Over the Hills and Far Away
by Tayi
Summary: [[Continues the story "The Wall"]] After New Year's some things ended, some changed, some began to heal, some were forgiven and some where forgotten. Jackie and Hyde got back together after a long sincere talk about Michael, Chicago, Vegas, Sam and the future. This how their lives unravel through the 80's
1. Chapter 1

This story continues the plot of "The Wal" .. If you haven't read that story this won't make much sense.

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**As always, I don't claim ownership of the characters, some lines of dialogue, some storylines and places described herein.**

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February 29th, 1980

6:37 pm

Foreman residence

"What time does their flight land?" asked Kitty for the hundredth time, stirring a big jar of "lemonade" though everybody knew it actually was tequila margarita.

"Donna should already be there" said Jackie after looking at her watch, "and Bob's plane lands in ten more minutes".

"And yes, Steven and Mr. Foreman won't be late" added Jackie before Kitty could say anything else.

With a nod Kitty smiled sweetly at Jackie and put the big jar in the fridge. Dinner was cooking slowly in the oven, a delicious smell filled the kitchen. Drinks and other appetizers were ready to be put in the coffee table in the living room and Fez and Kelso had been sent to the store to refill Bob's kitchen.

On February 1st Bob had packed his things and moved to Florida. That same day Kitty had decided that since Donna wasn't home either, Jackie should move to Laurie's old room. Bob had been disappointed that Red and Kitty hadn't gone to Florida too. But his disappointment was short lived after he'd met his current girlfriend – who, to Red's relief, wasn't coming this weekend.

7:38 pm

Kitty went up the stairs to find Jackie staring into her closet. "If you were thinking about changing, you better be quick" said Kitty, sitting in the bay window and sipping her drink.

Jackie was wearing a gorgeous light brown dress with dark yellow and red stripes. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head slightly "No… I was thinking how I am going to fit all of this back in Donna's closet"

"Oh no, no, no" said Kitty firmly, walking to the closet, "you know Red wouldn't let you out the door" she added, shutting the door close and taking Jackie by the elbow. "Come now, they'll be here any second and the boys are already in the basement".

10:22 pm

The basement

As usual, Kitty's cooking had been delicious and they were all feeling stuffed and happy. Bob had gone to bed just a few minutes before and Donna, Fez, Kelso and Hyde were all sprawled in the basement, unable to move. Donna had talked at length about her time in Africa with Eric. She had helped him with some of his volunteer work, but she had mostly walked around, taking pictures and talking to other people.

"I have a lot of film to develop" she explained, after Fez had asked to see the pictures.

"You brought _film_ from Africa?" asked Kelso, wide eyed, as Jackie walked down the stairs and then walking straight to Hyde's old room.

"She's not talking about _that_, moron" replied Hyde before anybody could say anything.

"But I want _film…" _said Kelso, half pouting – which did not look cute.

A couple of minutes later, Jackie emerged from the back and sat on the couch arm, between Kelso and Donna. "Here" she said, handing Kelso a beautifully rolled joint.

"What?" exclaimed Donna, dumbfounded "Are you pillaging Hyde's stash?"

"I don't live here anymore, remember?" said Hyde, chuckling. "That's all hers" and he tossed his lighter to Kelso.

11:57 pm

Hyde's apartment

"Are you sure Donna didn't see us leave together?" asked Jackie taking her coat off.

"Yes, doll" Steven replied, closing the door "She was still talking with Kelso and Fez when I left, and you had already _gone to bed_"

"Is this too weird?" asked her, lacing her arms around his neck and standing on tip-toes.

"What?" asked him, his hands resting on her hips "Us sneaking around our friends?" she just nodded, kissing his collarbone and then his neck "Oh yes… but it's even hotter than the first time" he said, sliding his hands down to her butt and squeezing lightly. A soft moan escaped her lips as she continued kissing his neck and up to his earlobe.

After a few minutes of intense making-out, he pulled back just a little bit. "You know I couldn't care less if they knew, but… why don't you want them to know?"

"I just don't want to talk to Donna about it" she sighed, taking his hand and guiding him to the couch. He just looked at her waiting for more details. "I guess I still don't completely forgive her"

"For Sam?" he asked, cautiously.

"Among other things" she replied. She leaned back on the couch, rubbing her eyes for a moment and then staring at the ceiling. "For a second when I came downstairs I thought about just sitting with you and that would be it. But then I figured they wouldn't leave us alone with questions and I know that she's trying and that she was being stupid because Eric was gone… but for a while she wasn't a very good friend"

"Then why did you move back to her house?" asked Steven after a few minutes.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go" she shrugged.

Steven decided to drop the subject. He knew that Donna's and Jackie's friendship was fragile after Chicago and Las Vegas, and especially after the whole Sam fiasco. Jackie had become so much more confident and self-assured during that whole period. Of course she had had some lapses of reason –namely Fez, but she had overcome much more.

"Do you still want me to go with you to visit your dad in the morning?" asked Steven when Jackie stirred from her deep thoughts. She nodded, and taking his hand she got up and walked towards his bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

If you're re-reading this, yes .. I've changed the chapter content because I just realized that there was an awful mistake with the dates.

Everything else is the same

Yes, Donna was a bitch to Jackie. But I believe actions speak louder than words, so no... Jackie and Donna are NOT going to have a big shouting match, if that's what you were expecting haha

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April 5th, 1980

8:22 pm

The basement

Kitty and Red were out having a romantic weekend and they had decided to have a good old-fashioned afternoon in the basement. A few empty boxes of pizza where piled on the dryer as well as some empty beer cans. Feeling stuffed and happy, Donna, Fez, Kelso – who had come for the weekend – and Hyde were all sprawled in the basement, unable to move. After a few minutes of pleasant silence, Kelso sat up in his chair with a mischievous smile in his face.

"I was waiting for that, man" said Hyde looking back at Kelso with a matching grin in his face, fishing his lighter from his shirt pocket.

Donna and Fez, who were sitting in the couch, eyes closed, stirred up from their stupor when Hyde spoke. "I missed this" said Donna, smiling happily.

Hyde tossed the lighter to Kelso, who lit the joint and took a deep draw. After the first round, Kelso had just taken his second draw and was leaning forward to give Hyde the joint when the kitchen door open. They all froze in their seats, panicking, forgetting that Red and Kitty weren't home. They all sighed with relief when they saw Jackie's feet coming down the stairs. Without a word, Donna and Fez moved in the couch to make room for her, but Jackie walked straight to Hyde and sat on his lap as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Before anybody could say anything she leaned over to take the joint from Kelso's still outstretched hand. "Perfect timing" said Jackie with a playful smile and took a deep draw. Three pairs of wide eyes looked at her and Hyde.

"What?" asked Donna, gesturing at Jackie and Hyde.

"Did you guys hear that there's a guy that invented a car that runs on water?" said Hyde, ignoring Donna, and taking the joint from Jackie.

April 6th, 1980

12:11 am

The basement

He wasn't expecting Jackie to just sit on his lap, but he had enjoyed his friend's reactions when she did.

Kelso, of course, had almost jumped from his seat, open mouth and wide eyes. He hadn't been back in Point Place since Donna's welcome party, and the same weekend that he and Jackie had gotten back together, one month before that. Back at the end of January they didn't want their friends to know about them yet, it was all still new and fragile. When Donna had returned from Africa Jackie still didn't feel quite in the best of terms with her friend. The last few weeks had been fun though; sneaking around so their friends wouldn't find out, making up excuses as to why they seemed to always arrive together whenever they hung out. Somehow today was different for Jackie.

Donna had dismissed Hyde's attempt to steer the conversation towards cars than run on water asking _why, how _and _when_ a few times, until she realized that nobody was answering. Fortunately she hadn't gone back to the attitude that she and Eric had the first time they had seen them making out, so long ago.

Only Fez looked unperturbed after a couple of minutes, as if he already knew or suspected that he and Jackie were back together. The three of them had hung out a few times while Donna was in Africa, in all of their usual hang outs, now including Fez's and Hyde's apartment. But as before, they spent most of their free time in the basement, ever since Jackie had moved into Laurie's old room. Neither Jackie nor Hyde had shown any sign of being back together, except that they were behaving a lot more nicely to one another.

Fez hadn't found suspicious that Hyde was always there earlier than what they'd agreed upon. He just thought it had to do with Kitty's cooking or Hyde's lack of a washing machine. But thinking back to those times, Fez realized that Jackie had always been in the basement too. And she always had already been in Hyde's place whenever they met there and she knew where to find almost everything in his kitchen.

After Kelso and Fez left, Donna felt awkward being alone with Jackie and Hyde, though they were being perfectly innocent. Jackie was still sitting in Hyde's lap, but was talking with Donna, asking her about Eric's last letter from Africa, going into weird little girly details, so Hyde had stopped paying attention a while back.

After a while he realized that neither his girlfriend nor his friend where going to pay any attention to him, so he just said goodbye, kissed Jackie lightly on the lips and exited through the backdoor. When the door closed, Donna stayed silent for a moment, looking intently at Jackie.

"Sooooo…?" asked Donna gesturing towards the door.

Jackie knew that they hadn't talked about Steven since she had moved back with her almost three months before, and let out a small sigh. "After you left, we talked" said Jackie, remembering that night. "About us and our expectations and how and why everything went amiss… we talked about Michael, Chicago, Las Vegas, Sam… everything"

Donna looked at her friend with a mixture of amazement and incredulity. She was finding hard to imagine Hyde talking openly about all of that and Jackie not exploding angrily – especially talking about Sam – and that as a result they were back together.

"Yeah" laughed Jackie reading the expression on Donna's face "I couldn't believe it either. We were both masters of Zen" laughed Jackie again.

"But why didn't you tell me sooner?" asked Donna, a bit hurt to know that her friends had been back together for over two months and that she was just learning about it.

Jackie sighed deeply. She had known that they would have to talk about all of this, especially now that they all knew about her and Steven. "I felt like I couldn't trust you" Jackie said, softly. Donna looked hurt. "I needed you to be _my_ friend… but you became _her_ friend" Jackie explained. "And even if you hadn't, you still took _his_ side and laughed every time he burned me"

"But that was months ago… and you're back together" said Donna, defensively.

"Because _he_ earned it" Jackie said.

They remained silent for a while. Jackie knew that she should have talked to Donna months ago about all of this, but it had been hard and her mind wasn't as clear. She also knew that Donna's mind wasn't as clear either, she had just been disguising her own heartbreak by being mean to Jackie and ignoring Eric's absence.

"You're right" Donna sighed. "I was just being selfish, and I wasn't a good friend to you"


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everybody,

First of all, I want to thank an anonymous reviewer for their encouragement and support about what's happening in my country. I am hopeful that things will work out for the best .. but there's now way of knowing yet how soon that might be. Living under a (very) right winged government and also under a dictatorial, extreme-right and horribly neo-liberal constitution for almost 40 years has left this country with A LOT of inequity and a lot of resentment from the working class.

-.-

As for J and D's friendship .. I think that despite how awful Donna was during the last season, the wounds are not as deep - because Jackie is very though .. and things will get better with time and all will heal.

Other things will happen in between though .. but not yet. For now, we're just setting the base for this story - this decade.

-.-

As you already know .. I don't own any of this, just this new plot including traces of the show's plot.

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June 21th, 1980

11:18 am

Foreman's kitchen

Jackie was helping Kitty with the salads while Hyde helped Red set up everything in the backyard, when the kitchen door opened and Fez and Donna walked in carrying grocery bags. Eric had returned a couple of days before, and after sleeping for 30 straight hours, had let his mother throw a welcome home party, which was also an engagement party for him and Donna. They had gotten engaged again during Donna's visit to Africa back in February, but hadn't said anything to anybody.

Kitty had been exhilarated by the news, though there had been a hint of resentment for not being told earlier. Red hadn't said much, and although his face didn't show it, they could all see in his eyes how happy and proud he was. Jackie had had her suspicions ever since Donna had gotten back from Africa, but since that "not yet" conversation with Steven, she had let go of any thought about marriage. Of course she was happy and excited for her best friend, but it was a contained excitement, which felt weird for Donna.

The day before, while Foreman was still sleeping, Donna had visited Hyde in the store and had made a comment about how strange it was that Jackie wasn't already planning a double wedding for them. Hyde had just shrugged. "You really want the old Jackie back?" asked him smiling with mirth. After Chicago, Sam and Fez, Jackie had grown so much, they both had, Hyde reflected. He felt as if they were on a whole new level since they had gotten back together.

After putting everything away, Fez had gone to the backyard to see if Red and Hyde needed any help, while Donna sat on a stool, peeling potatoes. Eric walked into the kitchen looking fresh and full of energy. He looked different, with a new depth in his eyes and a renewed self-confidence.

"Good morning, m'lady" said Eric, walking directly to Donna and planting a kiss on her forehead. They stayed silently looking at each other until Jackie coughed loudly. Blushing, Eric said hi to both Jackie and his mom, grabbed three beers from the fridge and went to the backyard. Kitty sighed happily.

-.-.-

12:26 pm

Kelso walked up the driveway carrying a precariously balanced tower of ice cream pints. Betsy ran past him straight to Hyde. Brooke came behind Kelso running after her daughter, but seeing that Betsy was safe sitting in Hyde's lap, instead walked to the kitchen to say hello to Kitty, Jackie and Donna.

"Hey little human" said Hyde bouncing Betsy in his knee and earning some mocking looks from Fez and Eric. Hyde ignored them, focusing on his god-daughter. Kitty and the girls, coming from the kitchen, silently stopped near the garage. Right when the jeering was about to turn loud, he looked at his friends before turning back and say to Betsy: "They are just jealous that you like me better". A couple yards away, Red laughed out loud, silencing the snickering boys.

"Aww… Uncle Hyde looks _sooo_ cute" mocked Kelso coming up the steps of the basement after putting the ice cream in the deep freeze.

Before anybody could reply, Betsy turned around in Hyde's lap and stuck her tongue out to her father, making everybody laugh, and then turned back to kiss Hyde in the cheek. Hyde grinned at Kelso "as I said… she likes me better".

"Well... she's got really good taste" said Jackie matter-of-factly.

-.-.-

5:47 pm

Foreman's basement

After spending most of the afternoon in Hyde's or Jackie's lap, Betsy had finally fallen asleep a little over 10 minutes before. They were all down in the basement eating ice cream directly out of the pints. It had been a great day, with Foreman back, Kelso and his family visiting for the weekend, and Bob back home for a few months escaping the hot and crowded Florida summer.

"I feel like it's been ages since we've all been here like this" said Fez, feeling happy and content, sitting in the basement with all his friends.

"It probably was before Jackie got that job in Chicago" said Kelso absentmindedly.

Silence fell over the group. Donna, Eric and Fez tensed. Kelso opened his eyes wide with terror and looked at Hyde. Brooke looked at Kelso wanting to smack him in the back of the head, which Donna actually did. "Dillhole!" muttered the redhead. They all turned to look at Hyde and Jackie, apprehensively. They were impassively sharing a pint of chocolate caramel ice cream.

"What?" asked Jackie looking at their anxious faces. "Get over it"

"We did" said Hyde shrugging and scooping more ice cream.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello all!  
This is day 25 of the protests in my country. Little real developement in terms of what the people is demanding from the streets and all their corners.  
The real developement is that the police is using extreme force and there are more than 180 people who have lost an eye (literally) because of plastic pellets shot by the police to the faces ot the protesters. Yesterday a young student of 22 years lost BOTH eyes because of this. If anybody is interested, there's a short video by the New Tork Times explaining that (search "it's mutilation new york times" on google)

I thought you should know that.

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Thanks for the reviews!

This next chapter goes a bit back and forth in time. Flashbacks are in italics.

Hope you enjoy!

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August 22nd, 1980

6:33 pm

Point Place water tower

Hyde was still surprised at how much Kelso had - finally - grown in the past few months. Though he guessed that, as it had happened to him, sometimes there were people or circumstances in life that push you in a certain direction.

_Around the beginning of May the insistent ringing of the phone had woken him up in the middle of the night. Deciding then that he had to install a line in his room, he walked to the living room, stumbling on his own feet, drowsy with sleep._

_"__Steven!" said Jackie's voice on the other side of the line, two octaves higher than usual. He heard her take a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Steven, thank god!" The anxious and shaky tone in her voice told him that something bad had happened. That woke him up fully._

_"__What is it, doll?" he asked quickly "Are you ok?" he was starting to worry, hearing her whimper on the other side._

_"__I am fine" she said sobbing slightly with shaky shallow breaths. "It's Betsy…"_

_Twenty minutes later he was pulling up in the Foreman's driveway. Jackie was sitting in the kitchen table, a steaming cup of tea in her hands. Red was sitting in front of her, trying - and failing - to comfort her. He sighed in relief when Hyde entered through the sliding door. Jackie followed Red's sight and seeing Hyde, she jumped from the chair to his arms._

_"__What happened?" Hyde asked Red, stroking Jackie's head while she silently sobbed. He walked her to the chair she had just left and sat there, with her in his lap._

_"__Kitty called a little while ago" Red explained seeing that Jackie couldn't speak. "She's on the night shift tonight. She said that she ran into Kelso pacing in the waiting room, Betsy is in surgery"_

_In that moment the phone rang and Red quickly got up to answer. Hyde didn't pay attention to his foster father's conversation but focused on Jackie._

_"__Hey, doll" ha said softly, rubbing her back gently. He kissed her forehead and stayed there, his cheek pressed to the top of her head, her body leaning into his. He could feel her shaky breaths in her whole body._

_"__That was Kitty" informed Red sitting back at the table "Betsy had an awful bowel obstruction, but she's out of surgery and the doctor says she's going to be ok"_

_At this Jackie, who had lifted her head to look at Red, started crying even harder, and buried her face on Hyde's chest again. He patted her back gently, sighing with relief at the news._

_"__Ssshhhh… it's ok, it's ok" he murmured to her ear "she's going to be ok" he repeated Red's words._

_He just let her cry it out. Just a week before they had been to Kelso's house in Chicago to visit him and their god-daughter for a couple of days. Jackie had instantly bonded with Betsy and they were pretty much in love with each other. He understood that it must be very upsetting for her to hear that her dearest goddaughter had to have emergency surgery._

_When she had calmed down they had gone to the hospital to check in on Kelso. They ran into Kitty near the ER and talked with her for a little while before going up to the waiting room outside of the post operatory recovery area. They found him sitting in the waiting room, head in his hands, looking at the floor in front of him._

_"__Hey, man" said Hyde, sitting next to his friend._

_"__Michael, are you ok?" Jackie asked, sitting on the other side, putting her arm around his shoulders._

_Kelso leaned into her embrace, resting his head on her shoulder and crying silently. Nobody spoke for long minutes._

_"__This was all my fault" Kelso said after a while._

_"__What? No, these things happen" said Jackie, reassuringly "Mrs. Foreman said that it happens a lot with kids her age"_

_Jackie looked at Hyde over Kelso's head. She had a strange look in her eyes, as if she was apologizing for having Kelso leaning on her like that. He shook his head silently and smiled. They had talked about this, and he really was ok with it. He'd meant it when he said that he trusted her no matter what._

_"__I'm going to go get a coffee" he announced standing up "you guys need anything?"_

_They both shook their heads and he walked out._

_"__Did he get mad?" asked Kelso a few minutes later, sitting straight after calming down and realizing Hyde wasn't there._

_"__You did it on purpose?" she asked, a bit crossed. Kelso's eyes widened, apprehensively._

_"__No!" he hurried to reply "I wasn't thinking, I just needed…" he trailed off, wiping his face. _

_"__No, I didn't" said Hyde's calm voice behind them. Kelso turned back startled, slightly worried, but Hyde just patted his back and sat on Jackie's other side. She smiled at him, taking his hand on hers. They had come a long way in just a few months._

_The following days and weeks had been tough on everybody. Brooke had gotten to the hospital in the middle of the morning. They had asked Fez to drive to Chicago to get her. Kelso hadn't wanted to tell her over the phone, all alone in Chicago and too anxious to drive or wait for the first bus._

_Kelso had not been able to look her in the eyes, and Brooke was too upset to even try to talk to him. Neither of them had left Betsy's bedside for more than a few minutes, even though the tension in the room was palpable._

_A few days later Betsy had been released from the hospital but still couldn't travel all the way to Chicago and Brooke had refused to stay at Kelso's parent's house. She still couldn't be in the same room as him. So Brooke and Betsy had taken over Jackie's room - Laurie's old room - until Betsy was clear for travel._

That night had changed something in Kelso, they could all see it. Hyde would never say it out loud, but he was proud of his friend. He had finally won over Brooke's good graces and they had gotten together sometime around June. They had been living together since then and were coming to visit for the weekend.

Kelso had called all his friends and asked them to meet him at the water tower. It had been a long time since they had all climbed up there.

And they were late.

-.-.-

7:21 pm

They were all sitting in the ledge, their backs resting against the water tank. They had been talking nonsense for a while, but Hyde was curious to know why Kelso had made them all go all the way to the water tower if they were still going to be all together at the Foreman's for dinner in just over 30 minutes.

"Spill, Kelso" said Hyde leaning forward to look at his friend in the eye. "What don't you want Red and Mrs. Foreman to know that you make us come all the way here?"

Kelso smiled his usual goofy smile. He was really excited. He fished a set of keys from his pocket and jangled the keys in front of them. "I am back, baby!"

In his enthusiasm he let go of the keychain and they saw it loop over the railing and disappear below their feet. Kelso instinctively lounged forward to try to catch them. Hyde and Foreman lounged after him and were able to grab him by his legs before he fell off the ledge.

"Dillhole!" exclaimed Donna, helping Eric pull Kelso back on the ledge, while Jackie did the same on the other side of Hyde.

"And here I thought that you'd grown" said Jackie, sighing dramatically. Hyde chuckled.

-.-.-.-

8:18 pm

Foreman residence

They were only a bit over fifteen minutes late, which meant that Red would only threaten one of them with a foot up their ass. It wasn't so bad. At least they had found Kelso's keys. Kitty welcomed Kelso warmly; after what had happened with Betsy and seeing first-hand how much he'd grown, she had started to like him more and more. She was thrilled with the news of him and his family moving back to Point Place. Brooke explained that they figured Chicago was too big of a city to raise a child, and they both wanted her to have a quiet life, with good friends and the possibility of Betsy playing out in the backyard without being constantly afraid that something bad would happen to their little girl.

Without telling anybody, they had found a nice house just a few blocks away – to Red's dismay and Kitty's delight, and Brooke had gotten a job as the director of the local library. The biggest surprise was that Kelso had been accepted back at the police academy while in Chicago, and now was _Officer Kelso, PPPD_.

So their news had been added to the list of things they were celebrating tonight. Eric and Donna would start school in a couple of weeks and since they were moving to Madison on Sunday, Kitty had decided to throw them a going away party.


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this. Work and travel has been crazy and I haven't had much time to focus on this.

Hope you enjoy!!

And happy 2020 to you all!!

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August 22nd, 1980

9:34 pm

Foreman residence

A little after dinner Brooke had come upstairs to put Betsy to bed in Jackie's old room. The little girl was exhausted after playing with Jackie and Fez most of the afternoon. Hyde walked upstairs to the bathroom, only to see Jackie sitting in her old room looking at a framed picture in her hands. She was sitting on the bay window, so still that he became worried.

"Is everything all right, doll?" he asked in a low voice looking sideways at Betsy's sleeping form in the bed just over a yard away. He sat next to her and looked at the picture in her hands. It was an old picture of her and her father. She was sitting on top of a caramel colored pony, her father holding the reins. It was a sunny day, and they both had huge happy smiles.

"I'd forgotten about this picture" she murmured, she didn't sound sad or upset. Hyde noticed a box next to her on the ground. She followed his gaze, put the framed picture back on the box and looked back at him "I didn't want to take this when I moved in" she explained.

_With Brooke and Betsy using her room, Jackie had started using Eric's, which was weird and uncomfortable – the bed was too small and springy, so she had started spending most nights at Hyde's apartment. By the time Betsy was fully recovered – which was two weeks after being discharged from the hospital, half of Jackie's things and clothes were already in Hyde's apartment._

_"__Don't" had said Hyde's voice behind her. She was taking her clothes out of his closet and absentmindedly throwing them in the open suitcase by her feet._

_"__What?" she asked, turning around, her arms loaded with sweaters._

_"__Put it back" he said simply, coming closer, taking the sweaters from her hands and putting them back in the shelf where they had been. "Mrs. Foreman invited us over for lunch, like a small going away thing for Betsy and Brooke"_

_"__Ok, so I still have plenty of time to finish packing" she replied, going back for the sweaters._

_"__Don't" he repeated grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the closet. "Don't leave"_

He smiled at the memory. The smile in Jackie's face in that precise moment was something that he would hardly ever forget. That afternoon she had retrieved all the rest of her things and was now _officially_ living with him. Well, almost all of her things.

"Why did you leave it?"

"I don't know…" she shrugged. He looked at her, knowing that she did know. She sighed rubbing her palm over her face. "Well… we are moving forward and they haven't been my parents for a very long time… if ever" she explained "but then tonight I saw Michael playing with Bets, and her smile was so bright and full of love… it made me think about this photo"

They sat there in silence, both of them thinking of their own parents. He had had a crappy childhood, with a pair of drunk junkies for parents who never gave a crap about him, not much anyway. He had a few nice memories of Bud playing catch with him in the park, or pushing him in the swings; he also had a couple of warm memories of Edna baking cookies and reading a goodnight story to him. They were old and blurry memories, he wasn't sure if they were real of if he'd invented them. When he was about 6 years old, it had all gone to crap after some of his parents friends had been over their house for the weekend. He knew that had been the inflection point in their lives, though he didn't know back then what it was exactly. It was several years later when Hyde finally understood what had changed that weekend: they had done some hard drugs for the first time, and it had been a downward spiral from then on.

For Jackie things had been different. She was daddy's little girl, and he gave her everything, whether she asked for it or not. He had been a constant presence in her early years, and that had made her mother jealous. She knew that now; back then she'd only think that her mother didn't like her. Pam had started her never-ending affairs when Jackie was around 10 years old, and would disappear for days or weeks. Jack would immerse himself in work to fill in the void left by his wife and had slowly drifted away from his daughter. To compensate, he would **buy** her everything, whether she asked for it or not; and so did Pam every time she was in town.

"I don't want my…" she started, taking a deep breath "_our_ kids?" she said cautiously "to feel how we've felt about our parents our whole lives"

Hyde took her hand and squeezed it gently. He had actually been thinking somewhere along the same lines. Or maybe not entirely same lines. Before Chicago all those thoughts had flashed through his mind, but he had dismissed them quickly. He had been scared to think about any of that. How could he ever be a parent if he had such crappy ones? But then he didn't have to think about it anymore, because Chicago happened, and Las Vegas happened.

Before his thoughts could run too far away he noticed that she had started fidgeting. Her face was streaked with tears. He couldn't stand to see her cry, but he kind of understood where this tears were coming from. He squeezed her hand again and looked at her in the eyes. "_Our_ kids" he said, emphasizing the word '_our'_, smiling shyly "are going to be just fine" he said softly.

"How can you know that?" she asked, sniffing. He cupped her face with both his hands, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

"Because we _know_ how it feels to have crappy parents" he explained softly, looking at her intently in the eyes, "and I wouldn't put any kid though that… and I _know_ you wouldn't either"


	6. Chapter 6

November 28th, 1980

5:25 pm

Foreman residence

Jackie had managed to get off work early that day and had rushed to the Foreman's house, where Kitty was already putting everything together for Steven's surprise birthday party. The last three months had been difficult for both of them, with lots of work, very little free time and not seeing much of each other.

She had started a new job in a small TV station in Kenosha the first week of September and even though it was a small thing, it had lots of promise. After Chicago she was sure that her career on TV was over, but luck had been on her side.

A couple of weeks after Jackie had started her new job, WB had decided to open a recording studio and had recruited Steven to help him find bands. It had been a huge investment – and risk – for WB, but Steven really knew good music and had found some promising bands that even after only a couple of months were selling really well.

Their weeks had been chaotic and their weekends mostly spent apart, because that was when Hyde and WB would go chasing bands. During the week Hyde, WB and Angie spent a lot of time on the new recording studio paperwork. If it wasn't for Ryan, Hyde would have had more work that he could have managed so he was really glad that he had hired him. Ryan had great taste in music and was very good at book-keeping. And he got along perfectly with Leo, which was an added bonus.

Jackie was almost too busy to miss Steven. Her new job was similar to what she'd done for Christine St. George, except that she actually really liked her boss and other co-workers. Her boss was a powerful and inspiring woman, the host of a morning show that actually had smart content, as Donna had pointed out, and Jackie felt like she was learning more than all of what she'd learned in high school.

But today and this weekend would not be about work. Jackie had talked to her boss to make sure that she would be completely free during the weekend. She had also called WB and Angie to be sure that Steven wouldn't have to work at all that weekend – and of course to invite them to the party: they were the ones in charge of getting Steven to the party at 7 pm.

9:23pm

After the gigantic Thanksgiving dinner from the day before, Kitty and Jackie had decided to do a cocktail party kind of thing, with a big and colorful table full of delicious appetizers in one corner of the living room. Kitty had excelled with all her delicious dishes and drinks. But Jackie was the one who shone the brightest with the birthday cake. After many times trying to teach Jackie how to cook, Kitty had almost given up, but today Jackie had insisted on making the cake herself, with Kitty's guidance. It turned out to be not exactly the best cake ever, though everybody had done their best not to show it. Except for Steven, who had made a weird face upon the first bite looking at her expectant face. He took a long sip from his cup before giving her a wide grin.

"Soooo much better than the cookies" he laughed

11:42 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

After an amazing celebration Jackie sighed with relief as soon as the door opened to the dark and empty apartment and she was able to take her shoes off and drop on the couch. Steven closed the door behind him, leaving his keys, wallet and sunglasses in the table by the door, as usual. He took his boots off and sat next to her.

"Thank you" he said, pulling her closer to him and kissing her deeply

When they pulled apart for air Jackie sighed content, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his hand up and down her back, humming happily. It had been a rough few weeks, but they both had the weekend off and with the Christmas season starting, he, WB and Angie would have some slow weeks with their new business.

"If I say something will happen "_soonish_"" said Steven suddenly after a while "how long is that for you?"

"Well…" she started, not knowing where the conversation was heading "I don't know… maybe a few months or a year?"

He nodded thoughtfully, with a mysterious smile creeping up his face. "Ok, in that case, can I ask you something?" She shifted in his arms to look at him. His voice sounded serious but he wore a warm and sincere smile. She nodded.

"What do you say to changing _not yet_ to _soonish_?"


	7. Chapter 7

This is quite a jump after the last line on the previous chapter. But I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it .

* * *

January 1st, 1981

12:01 am

Foreman residence

He had guided her to a quiet corner in the living room while their friends hassled to fill their glasses, moving closer to their partners. Red's new color TV was showing a live stream from New York, the camera focused on the ball in Time's Square. But he wasn't paying attention to the people behind him. He fixed his blue eyes on hers as everybody started to count backwards from ten.

_Ten_

"Maybe I should have done this before"

_Nine_

"It's been over a month…"

_Eight_

"…since we talked about this"

_Seven_

"But it just happened"

_Six_

"I didn't plan…" he broke in the middle of the sentence and took a deep breath

_Five_

"Soonish?" he asked

_Four_

He pulled a small and elegant platinum ring from his shirt pocket, with a beautiful light yellow diamond surrounded by a dozen tiny blue sapphires, creating the shape of a flower.

_Three_

She gasped at the view. It was the most gorgeous ring she'd ever seen. Not even in her wildest wedding-crazed dreams she'd imagined something this fine and beautiful existed.

_Two_

Unable to say anything out loud, she placed her hands on either side of his face, trying to say with her eyes what her mouth couldn't articulate and nodded slightly, keeping her eyes on his.

_One_

"Together we stand… divided we fall" he murmured at the same time that everybody around them shouted "_Happy New Year!"_ sliding the ring on her finger Their kiss had been long, sweet and tender. Their minds miles away from the music and the happy shouts around them. They were pulled apart by people shouting and bouncing happily wanting to hug them and wish them a happy new year. In their bubbly and cheerful mood no one noticed the joyful seriousness on Hyde's face, the happy glow on Jackie's eyes or even the impressive gemstone flower on her finger.

* * *

Hey, all!! First of, thanks for all the reviews. Those two lines are also my favourite from the last chapter. I really liked writing it. And this one as well. It was kinda challenging to find the perfect moment and ambiance to make official that _"soonish". _But I like how it turned out!


	8. Chapter 8

January 1st, 1981

12:43 am

Foreman residence

Only after the New Year's hugs and toasts, and when everybody was starting to find their seats, Brooke noticed the ring in Jackie's finger. New bottles of champagne were brought from the deep freeze in the basement while more hugs and toasts and congratulations fell upon Jackie and Hyde.

It was only fitting that Steven had waited to this night, Jackie thought, looking at him from across the room. She was surrounded by Kitty, Donna, Brooke and Midge, who wouldn't stop admiring her new ring and where already planning her bachelorette party and wedding ceremony, deciding who would be maid of honor and a dozen other details that she didn't care about right now.

After their talk on the night of his 21st birthday, Steven hadn't say anything else on the topic. Of course she'd expected a ring after that conversation, but she'd realized months before that she truly didn't need one. She had told him that she didn't need it and she'd meant it, but ever since they'd moved in together, she couldn't help but feel extremely curious about the ring.

Something told her that maybe he still had it, but she had refrained from searching for it. And even though she had seen the inside of every drawer, nook and cranny in the apartment while cleaning, organizing, looking for something and putting stuff away, she had never come across it. Maybe it was in the store, maybe he actually didn't have it anymore. She really didn't need it on her finger, the ring was just an accessory. She was just _curious_ as to what it looked like. Now she was glad that she'd never found it, it had made the surprise all the more wonderful.

Hyde looked at her in that same moment, amazed. She had been truly surprised when he'd fished the ring from his pocket. In turn, he'd been surprised when – after that conversation – she hadn't asked, demanded or even commented about the lack of a ring. And even though it was now over a month since he'd bought it, he'd wanted to give it to her in a special occasion, and what better than New Year's, the day that had started to change and heal things between them.

Without a word to the people talking next to them, they broke from the groups surrounding each of them and met by the kitchen door. He kissed her chastely on the lips and put a hand in her lower back, pressing her side to his, her arms around his waist. Kitty and Donna where still talking about flower arrangements and string quartets, oblivious to the fact that Jackie wasn't there to hear them anymore. Brooke looked at her and smiled sweetly winking at her.

On the other side of the room, Foreman, Red, Kelso and Fez's conversation had turned into an analysis of Bob's latest adventures in Florida, who had decided to go back south to spend New Year's with his girlfriend.

"Do you think anybody will notice if we leave?" asked Steven surreptitiously.


	9. Chapter 9

May 23rd, 1981

6:05 pm

Kenosha Country Club

"We are five minutes late" whispered Jackie, peaking at the hall though the cracked door, "he looks so nervous" she giggled, excitedly.

"Are you ready?" asked Donna looking first at Brooke and then at Jackie. They both nodded, smiling.

Jackie checked her hair in the mirror by the door one last time. Behind her, Donna smoothed an inexistent wrinkle in her dress. Behind Donna, Brooke linked her left arm to her father's right arm and smiled at her friends.

Jackie knocked slightly on the door and a second later the double doors in front of her open to reveal a small hall with about 40 people sitting on both sides of an isle decorated with white roses. In front of Jackie, Betsy started walking towards her father, throwing rose petals of every possible color up in the air.

Jackie walked behind her goddaughter, her eyes fixed in the altar, where Steven stood, tall, proud and so very handsome. Michael had chosen Fez as his best man, but Steven and Eric were standing next to Michael as well. _As they always have_, thought Jackie, thinking of all the many adventures and misadventures of their group of friends.

When she reached the altar she smiled at Michael, who only looked at her for a tiny fraction of a second. He was entranced looking at Brooke who had just walked through the door, behind Donna. She could feel Steven's gaze upon her, and looked back at him, feeling week at the knees.

She hardly payed any attention to the ceremony, only responded mechanically when she had to take Brooke's bouquet and to give her the ring. She only had eyes for Steven, and he for her.

/-/-/-/

8:24pm

It had taken a while, but Jackie had finally convinced Steven to dance. They were swaying to a slow song, their friends also dancing around them. They saw Michael and Brooke, looking at each other with dreamy eyes. Red and Kitty were barely moving, she with her eyes closed and her head resting on his chest. Eric and Donna were walking back to the bar, hand in hand. Fez and his girlfriend Rachel were dancing near the edge of the dancefloor.

Jackie moved her arms up to Steven's neck, and in the movement the ring in her left hand caught the light and it shone for a brief moment on his eye. He took her hand from his shoulder and kissed it lightly, not taking his eyes from hers.

She smiled happily, kissed him on the lips, and put her hand back on his shoulder.

They never stopped swaying to the music.

/-/-/-/

10:58 pm

Donna was helping Brooke out of her wedding dress, while Jackie readied the suitcase.

"Are you sure, Jackie?" asked Brooke for the thousandth time.

"Yes" Jackie replied, fighting not to roll her eyes "Betsy is going to be just fine, you just concentrate on enjoying your honeymoon"

As a wedding present, all the friends had come together to give them a five day honeymoon in a gorgeous mountain resort that had hot springs and a spa. And Jackie and Steven had volunteered to have Betsy staying with them. It would be the first time that Betsy was away from her parents that long, and the first time that she'd spend even a night with her godparents.

Jackie understood Brooke's uneasiness, she was also nervous about it. But she'd made a commitment and she'd see it though. It helped a lot that Betsy was really close to her and Steven and loved spending time with them; hopefully she wouldn't miss her parents too much.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everybody! How's the corona situation on your side of the screen?

I hope you're all staying safely at home, washing your hands constantly and keeping a safe distance from people xD

Cheers to all!

* * *

October 9th, 1981

5:41 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

"I just don't know what to pack" said Jackie, sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at all her clothes spread on the floor. Donna was leaning on the door frame with a crocked smile on her face "tell me what to pack!" Jackie pleaded.

"I'm not telling you Hyde's plan" said Donna. Jackie gave her friend a murderous look. Donna grunted, half annoyed and half amused. "Ok, I'll help you, but I'll only say three things" said Donna, resigned. She moved over and pulled Jackie off the bed and sat in her spot "First, it's Fall… and you love Fall"

Jackie looked at the clothes scattered on the floor, picked up a huge armload of pants and sweaters and scarves and hats, and tossed them on the bed.

"Ok… second, you're only going for the weekend, so there's no need for that many clothes"

"Yeah but if I don't know where we're going how can I choose my outfits?" pouted Jackie throwing her arms up

"Third… you know you're not going _camping_" said Donna not paying attention to Jackie's question "Don't look at me like that, we all know that you don't do very well in the wilderness"

Jackie could see her friend's point. Last time they'd been out in the woods she had fallen into a small stream, mostly thanks to him anyways. But that was back then, and she knew he wouldn't let any of that happen again.

"And…?" asked Jackie hoping for a little more insight.

"Uuughh… Ok, obviously he won't take you to Las Vegas" same logical voice._ Vegas… _thought Jackie with a shrug, maintaining her Zen outside "And he's not taking you to Chicago since the only possible reason you had for going has been back here for over a year now" Jackie nodded, thanking Donna for avoiding delicate issues so nicely.

Truth is, she had let go of the whole Chicago incident almost two years ago. Most of it anyways, and more so since she had that gorgeous ring on her finger. But still, they hadn't been back to Chicago since Kelso and his family were back in Point Place. And she still felt a small pang of pain every time she thought about that night.

/-/-/-/

6:21 pm

Donna had just left when the door opened again and Steven walked in. He had his sunglasses on but, as he did every time he got home, he took them off and put them in the little table by the door along with his keys and his wallet. It was a very nice thing that he'd started doing back when they had gotten back together, without her even asking. Though he would still wear them all the time when they were not home, especially around strangers or – for some reason – her co-workers

She was looking at him from the kitchen door, and when he turned around she walked through the living room and greeted him with a flirty smile and a hot kiss. _Best way to start the weekend_, he thought before he lost contact with reality. But suddenly the kiss was over and he looked at her almost like begging for more.

"So…" she started, her arms around his neck, her body dangerously close to his "where are we going?"

He smiled slyly and raised an eyebrow. "Not telling" he replied chuckling at her almost successful attempt to distract him enough to spill the beans. Her eager face melted away instantly but he didn't let her pull apart "I told you it's a _surprise_" he said patiently pulling her closer and kissing her fiercely.

/-/-/-/

October 11th, 1981

6:35 pm

A cabin in the woods

On Friday they had driven in a comfortable silence listening Donna's program on the radio and enjoying the music. Jackie would hum most of the songs looking placidly through the window to the darkening landscape. After almost two years, he was still surprised by her new music taste. When they moved in together, he hadn't seen any ABBA or Donny Osmond in her section of the shelf were they kept the records. They even had some twice! And they never had even the slightest argument about music anymore. It had become clear after a couple of months that Jackie favored Pink Floyd over Led Zeppelin, but they'd found a good balance of both, mixing it with other stuff as well.

The cabin that Steven had rented for the weekend was very similar to the one her parents owned before the whole embezzlement fiasco some years before. The main difference was the decoration, this was furnished in a way that made it really warm and homey, instead of rough and filled with dead animals.

They had enjoyed Friday night cuddled in the big comfy couch, hypnotized by the flames in the fireplace, not talking much, but enjoying the change of scene, the silence of the woods and each other's company. Both had had a very stressful few weeks and as soon as Steven saw a bit of calm - and a long weekend too, he had planned this getaway.

Saturday had been a beautiful day, warm and sunny, and they had gone out for a long walk. There was a trail network near the cabin and encouraged by the nice weather they had both been eager to explore. It also helped that there was no risk of falling to a creek since there were beautiful wooden bridges over them, and also benches and gorgeous lookouts. By noon they had reached the back of a small village where they had lunch and hot chocolate to escape the cold breeze that run through the streets.

Sunday had been a lazy day so far. It had started to rain the night before and even though it hadn't turned into a full-on storm, neither of them had had the inclination of going outside, except to get more firewood. Steven was sitting in the rug in front of the fire, carefully roasting a marshmallow. Next to him was a big tray with a chocolate bar pieced in squares and two packages of graham crackers.

"So… have you thought more about the proposal?"


	11. Chapter 11

October 11th, 1981

6:52 pm

A cabin in the woods

Jackie looked at the fire in silence for a little while. She had thought _a lot _about it, but she wasn't sure it was the best idea. _Life shouldn't be so complicated_, was the first thing she'd thought when she got that call back at the beginning of the month.

"I have, but Madison is still so far away" replied Jackie taking a s'more from him

"Far from where? Point Place?" he asked in return, stabbing another marshmallow in the stick

"Well… yes, far from home" she said, waiting for the chocolate to melt and the marshmallow to cool a little bit. She had already burned her tongue with the first one.

"Ok, then what if Madison was home?" he asked. Jackie looked at him dumbfounded. _What?_ "Forget about Point Place for a moment, Doll" he said, reading her confused face "This is about what _you_ want, Jackie" he said fixing his eyes on hers "Do you _want_ the job?" he asked matter-of-factly, before chewing into his own s'more

"But… what about you? What about this?" she asked pointing to the ring in her left hand

"We're not talking about _me _or _us_, Jackie" he said placidly, tilting his head slightly.

She was starting to lose her patience now. _Not about you? Not about us?!_ _This is not something I can decide by myself!_ she wanted to yell at him. After a few moments she understood the look on his face. It was filled with love and understanding and determination.

"I do…" she said softly "But…"

"No buts, Doll" he interrupted "I don't want you to miss _another_ chance because of me"

She opened her mouth to speak again, beginning to feel annoyed.

"Stop thinking about Chicago, Jackie" he warned her, shutting down anything she could have said. She stared at him, eyes slightly widened. _Did he just read my mind? _"What I mean is that you should go where your career _takes you_… I can _take mine_ with me"

Speechless, Jackie stared at him for long minutes. Did he really mean what she thought he was saying?

"Say something…" he said, starting to feel awkward.

"Just like that?" she asked, snapping out of the daze.

"Yeah…" he shrugged. "I mean, I would have to settle all with WB and Angie" he explained. He had thought long and hard about this since she'd told him about the job offer the week before. He had a pretty good plan, but he didn't want to pressure her in any direction. If she wanted the job, he'd go with her. It was that simple. "And maybe I won't be able to go with you right away… but it's just a couple of hours away anyway"

"You've already talked about this with your father _and_ your sister?" she asked, incredulous. He scratched his nape, slightly self-conscious.

"Well I already had a meeting with him on Monday and when he asked about you, I told him about Madison and… yeah" he shrugged, picking another marshmallow so he would have something to do with his hands instead of fidgeting

"You have it all figured out already, don't you?" she asked, amused.

"It's not as different as the plan I had for Chicago" he said, dismissively, not really wanting to get into that. She just looked at him questioningly. After a moment he just sighed and went on "back then WB offered me to take over the store in Chicago" he explained.

"But Madison isn't Chicago" she said carefully. And then she remembered something else "And didn't he sell all the other stores?"

"Back then, he hadn't sold all yet" he said, and started explaining how he would have still been in charge of Groove's. Back then, his idea had been to hire somebody full time, and him going one or two days each week to oversee the books and orders. Now he had Ryan, and he was an excellent worker.

"So, you'd trade Point Place for Madison?"

"Not quite, because Point Palce's Groove's is the only one left" he said "But we realized a while back that Madison is like a breeding ground for great bands, considering all the college students there… so WB wants to branch the studio there"


	12. Chapter 12

November 26th, 1981

6:01 pm

Pinciotti residence

"Did you finish unpacking yet?" asked Donna, sitting in her bed.

From the other side of the bedroom, Jackie shook her head, still looking through her best friend's records. She and Steven had finally found a new permanent home the week before, and had struggled to move all their belongings from the various places they had been scattered in the past couple of years.

Jackie still had a bunch of things from her parent's house in storage and in Donna's and the Foreman's house. Likewise, Steven had left a few boxes in the Foreman's basement and – he remembered one day – in Bud's apartment. He had taken the time to go through each box to decide what to keep and what to throw away. He kept very few things.

Jackie started her new job on the last week of October and since they hadn't found a suitable house – for Jackie had insisted on a house instead of an apartment, she had temporarily moved into Donna and Eric's spare room.

Right after that weekend in the mountains, Steven had had to go to California and New York with WB and Angie. He hated to leave Jackie just before her move to Madison, but there hadn't been any way out of the two week trip. Upon his return home, he helped her organize and pack her things and on Sunday, he'd gone with her to Madison and had stayed for a few days before he had to return to Point Place.

It had been a great week, spending time with Donna and Eric, seeing them in their element, between classes and work; going out to the movies and having deep and crazy conversations in the circle. Since his friends and Jackie where out most of the day, he went around town looking for a suitable house. He'd found none. Back in Point Place, he went through every tiny detail with Ryan, to make sure that the store would keep functioning without a hitch with him gone. The paperwork had been the most tedious part.

"The house is a mess, Donna" groaned Jackie "Steven and I have so much work that some days we don't get home until after dinner"

She decided on a Rolling Stones album and after putting it on the turntable, sat next to Donna in the bed releasing a long sigh, and dropping back. She was frustrated with the new house. When they had first seen it, she had loved it and didn't want to see any other. Steven was relieved because it had felt just like going to the mall, and he didn't like any kind of shopping.

It was a very nice two story house, with a small front lawn and a big backyard with an ancient oak near the back. Upon entering the house there was a spacious living room on the right, open to the dining room that looked to the back yard through wide French doors that opened to the back porch. The kitchen also looked to the back yard, and it was open to the left side of the dining room. To the left of the main door was a big room that they decided to turn into a study. Right in front of the entrance, the wide staircase led to the second floor. There were three bedrooms (one of which had its own big bathroom) plus another full bathroom.

"For a couple of days I thought about just staying in Madison this weekend" said Jackie after a few silent minutes

"Mrs. Foreman would have gone there herself to drag you both here" said Donna, with an amused smile.

"Oh yes, she told Steven that she'd do just that when he hinted that we might not come for Thanksgiving" chuckled Jackie

After another long pause in which they both just enjoyed the music, Jackie asked "Have you guys set a date yet?"

/-/-/-/

8:43 pm

Foreman's living room

After the last plate had been cleared, they all dragged themselves to the living room, where they sprawled in the couch, chairs and even on the floor. Jackie was so full that she felt that she might explode in any second. She was laying on the ground, her head resting on Steven's lap, who was sitting against the piano.

"So…" started Kitty with a nervous laugh, looking at Jackie as she played absentmindedly with the ring on her left hand "have you set a date yet?"

When she had asked Donna that same question earlier, she knew that her best friend would return it. She didn't have an answer and didn't want to explain anything either so just like before, she just shook her head in the same moment that Steven said "_Not yet_" squeezing Jackie's hand and giving her a wink, remembering their conversation in January the year before, and the one his last birthday.

"But… you've been engaged for almost a year" insisted Kitty

"So? These two" replied Steven pointing with his thumb to Eric and Donna, who sat on the floor next to him and Jackie "have been engaged for almost two years… and for the second time, too"

All eyes turned to the other couple. Eric's face turned red, Donna's remained impassive.

"They are still in college" defended Kitty. After a pause, she insisted: "you don't need to have a big party"

They had spent all their savings into buying and furnishing the new house, and even though they didn't want a huge party, whatever they did would cost more than they had at the moment. They both knew, though, that if they asked WB, he would happily pay for whatever they wanted. He had actually offered to do so just a week before.

"We don't need one" said Steven, impassive.

"Then why…" started Kitty

"I don't feel like planning a party" said Jackie, matter-of-factly "and Steven wouldn't either" she laughed, looking at him.

"You know me well" said Steven, smiling at her.

"But…" started Kitty again

"We're not getting married yet" said Steven, dryly. He didn't mean to sound harsh, especially not to Kitty, but he was becoming annoyed and Jackie was getting upset too.

After a long and awkward silence, broken by the sound of Fez opening a bag of candy, everybody started to relax again and the conversation moved to more mundane and safer topics.

* * *

A/N: hey! I hope you're liking this!

I need a bit of help .. I never really liked Jackie's nickname for Hyde and I'm having trouble thinking of a new one .. so I'd appreciate some ideas hehe.

I know that the fact that she calls him "_Pudding Pop"_ reflects a lot of Jackie's personality during the show and the nature of their relationship - I mean, there's a reason why Hyde _lets_ her call him that .. but I feel that the Jackie of this story is different and so the nickname doesn't fit either of them ... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	13. Chapter 13

November 26th, 1981

11:39 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

Considering that Steven still had to go back to Point Place at least one or two days a week, and that they visited the Foreman's and Kelso's as much as possible, they'd decided to keep the apartment just as it was. Upon entering, Jackie took her shoes off and walked tiredly to the kitchen. Steven left his wallet, keys and shades in the table by the door, and took off his shoes and jacket. Following Jackie to the kitchen he asked: "Are you alright, doll?"

She took a can of soda from the fridge and turned back to him. She looked a bit tired and traces of the annoyance from before still lingered in her eyes, but after a second it melted away and a resigned smile and sigh followed. "It's just hard for them to understand" she shrugged

"They don't know the Jackie I know" he said simply. She left the can on the counter and walked towards him.

"And _who_ might that be?" asked her sliding her hands under his sweater, slowly, tantalizingly. Steven leaned down and kissed her softly.

"A strong… independent… witty… smart… beautiful woman" he replied, kissing her lightly between each word.

"You forgot bitchy" she said, her breath quivering slightly.

He laughed merrily and kissed her again, this time hot and deep. She pulled herself closer to his body, making him stumble backwards until his back hit the counter. There he turned them around and lifted her on top of it. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, and deepened the kiss.

Something between a moan and a grunt escaped his lips as her hands slid under his sweater again, this time pulling the garment up. His hands left her hips to pull her jacket out of her arms. As soon as his sweater and her jacket were on the ground, he lifted her again and tumbled out of the kitchen, through the living room and into the bedroom, without breaking the kiss.

/-/-/-/

November 27th, 1981

2:25 am

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

Jackie slept peacefully next to him. Her hair was fanned on the pillow under her head. He was laying on his back, facing the ceiling but looking at her face every few minutes. She was laying on her side, one leg popped on top his hip, her arm draped over his chest.

He always woke up a little while after they made love. It was a quiet and comfortable moment and he especially enjoyed the feeling of her naked body next to his, her face peaceful and happy. He usually used these times to think and analyze things. Making love with her always left him with a calm and clear mind.

He was glad that Jackie had let go of the topic. He still flinched at the memory of their last talk about marriage and weddings before Chicago and Las Vegas. It had been an awful conversation and it had led to an even worse situation. After Chicago, in the months they had been apart, something had changed within Jackie. Though, thinking about it, he realized that the change had started when she had ventured on her public access show, over two years ago.

A few days after she had broken up with Fez, she had started working in a clothing store in the mall. There she had gone from checking people's items at the dressing rooms to stacking shelves, folding stuff and organizing hangers, all the way up to salesclerk in just a bit over a month.

While working there she had met Charlotte Bell, who only a couple of weeks later became her boss at the station in Kenosha. She had made a great impression in the fascinating woman. After helping her find at least five different outfits Mrs. Bell knew all of Jackie's work-related struggles. She was good at her job in the store, but she _loved_ her job at the station. Mrs. Bell took her under her wing and taught her every secret and behind-the-camera tricks.

While in Kenosha she'd realized that she enjoyed the behind-the-cameras work much more than being in front of them. She had a small weekly section in the show, but after a few weeks the excitement wore off and she realized that the uncomfortable feeling that she had first attributed to excitement would not fade.

Now, working in the station in Madison, she felt happy and accomplished. She was a junior producer, which meant that she was part of the team that decided the show's content. Her job ranged from researching trending topics – which meant that she had to read at least two or three newspapers every day – to engaging public figures for the host to interview. Sometimes she had to go with the crew of cameramen and reporters to various locations and be in charge of running the "out-of-studio" set.

Most of her life, her only goal had been to find a suitable man to marry, run her home with the help of many maids and other staff, raise children and spend all of her husband's money in the mall. Much like her mother had done all her life.

She hadn't really understand what it meant to work when she had worked at the Cheese Palace. Back then it had only been a rebellious lapse born of out stubbornness, in the illusion of her love for Michael. But after her father had gone to jail and her mother had disappeared somewhere in the Caribbean, she had been forced to learn to fend for herself.

She was enjoying her work, seeing how far she'd gone from the Cheese Palace, to sweeping hair in that awful salon, to the store and – finally – to the TV industry. She was excited to see how much farther she would get, as she was making a name for herself.

She and Steven had talked about this that weekend in the woods.

_"If we go to Madison" started Jackie after a small silence. Steven looked up at her from his seat near the fireplace. "What about this?" she asked again, pointing at her left hand.__"Do you want to get married now?" he asked. She was silent for a while, her gaze fixed on the dancing flames. He noticed she was nervous, she was fidgeting. "You don't want to get married?" he asked, uneasy. He didn't know how to feel about her silence and nervousness, and was rather shocked to feel so upset at the idea that she might not want to anymore__"I do!" exclaimed Jackie, tearing her gaze from the fire. "I do" she repeated in a softer tone. She held out her hand to him.__Steven left the marshmallow he'd been roasting in the tray and moved to sit next to Jackie, pulling her legs on his lap. She placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him softly. It was a long, sweet kiss. She kept her eyes closed and her forehead resting on his for a few moments before pulling away._

_"__I do want to marry you" she said again "but I don't need to be married to know that this is for real, that you are mine"_

_"As _you _are mine__" he stated, kissing her softly behind the ear. She shivered slightly at his light touch and sighed._

_"__As I am yours" she professed._

_"__So you don't want to marry… yet?" he said after a small silence. She nodded._

_"__For the first time" she explained "the name Burkhart doesn't go along with '_in prison for embezzlement_' or '_topless on a beach in Mexico'_" she smiled, finally putting into words what she had been musing about for many weeks. "Before you, nobody expected me to be anything other than Jack and Pamela Burkhart's daughter and then someone's wife. Not even Donna saw beyond that. You are the only one that _never _saw me under the shade of my parents. But now everybody else is starting to see me for who I am. I am not someone's daughter, I'm not someone's wife. I am my own person and it feels so damn right!"_

_They remained silent for a long while. Outside of the cabin the rain had turned into a storm. They could hear the thunder up in the mountain and the wind hauling through the trees. He put more wood in the hearth and returned to sit in the same position as before. He looked at her straight in the eyes, serious and intense. Jackie became nervous again and after a few seconds he couldn't contain a wide grin from spreading through his face_

_"__The world must have turned upside-down" he said, jesting. "I never thought there would come the day you'd be thinking about work and not be blabbing like crazy about becoming 'Mrs. Hyde' and planning our wedding and honeymoon"_

_She smacked him lightly in the shoulder, laughing._

_"__So let's just go one step at a time" he said, moving back to the front of the fireplace and stabbing a new marshmallow. "There's a lot to plan if we're moving to…" he stopped in mid-sentence and looked back at her. "_Are we_ moving to Madison, _Miss_ Burkhart?"_

_Laughing again she nodded, immensely happy and grateful to have him by her side after all they'd gone through._

"Go back to sleep" said a drowsy voice in his ear.

Steven turned to face her. He'd been so focused staring at the ceiling that he hadn't noticed that she'd awoken. He turned to his side and held her closer, inhaling her intoxicating scent. He kissed her lightly in the temple.

"What were you thinking?" she asked softly.

"That weekend in the woods… and tonight" he said.

"Do you think we should set a date?" she asked after a couple of silent minutes.

"Not really" replied Steven, knowing what had prompted the question. "Do you?" asked he in return.

"Only if it means they won't bother us anymore"

"Have you met them?" asked him, merrily "They won't leave us alone with all the planning"

She laughed. "Yeah, you're right"


	14. Chapter 14

Hello all!

Sorry if I'm taking too long to update .. I've had a bunch of work and not much time to write and proof-read the few chapters I've finished already .. and I've been having so many ideas that I don't know if I should re-write what I already have, or just write a new story ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Now ... there's a new character in this chapter. I have to clarify that I borrowed the idea for this character from another FF but sadly I don't remember which, since I've read too many Jackie+Hyde stories. If whoever wrote that is reading this, you'll probably know I'm talking about you, and thanks!

Also, I'm still open to suggestions about a new nickname for Hyde. I never really liked "Pudding pop" and it's too childish for this new grown up Jackie anyway.

Hope you're staying safe and healthy!

Enjoy!

* * *

December 31st, 1981

11:04 pm

WB's house, Milwaukee

Hyde had never thought that along with a new father and a new sister he'd also have a grandmother. She had returned home the day after Christmas after spending almost a year and a half jumping from one cruise ship to the next with some friends. WB and Angie had never talked much about her before, and Hyde could not understand why, seeing that Layla was one of the coolest people he'd ever met.

Layla had commandeered WB's house for a New Year's party and had insisted to invite everybody. "Steven, you _have_ to come. You and Jackie, of course" she'd commanded the day they met. "And you should also bring the Formans and all your friends".

He had looked at her questioningly. "Oh, _boy" _she said, laughing. He couldn't overlook the way she'd called him _boy_. "I know _eeeverything_ about you" she said with a wink. Apparently, Angie had kept Layla informed of everything that was going on in hers and WB's life in extreme detail, as Hyde soon discovered.

When she met the gang that evening, Layla already knew everything about Kelso's relationship with Angie and Kelso's current relationship status with Brooke. She knew all the comings and goings of Eric's and Donna's relationship, including the cancelled wedding and the African secret engagement. She also knew all the details about Chicago, Las Vegas and Sam. And she had been especially eager to see Jackie's engagement ring. Hyde was curious to know how she knew so much, considering that he never talked about any of that with Angie.

That last part was explained the minute Red and Kitty walked through the door.

"Oh, my goodness" exclaimed Layla, happily. "It's so nice to finally put a face to the voice" she said, walking briskly towards Kitty and engulfing her in a bear hug.

"They've been talking on the phone for hours almost every week these past five months" explained Red in a low voice to Hyde. He was glad to be wearing shades.

Instead of a formal dinner party, Layla had decided to hire a catering service. They had come to the house early in the afternoon to set up everything and filled the refrigerator and every possible cupboard and flat surface in the kitchen with appetizers and all kinds of finger foods. The bar had been thoroughly stocked the day before.

As the party progressed and Hyde observed Layla move around the people present, he was sure that the song had been written for her, though he'd read the real story behind the song, and of course Layla claimed to never have met Eric Clapton. In any case, she had everybody in the party on their knees. It _was_ her party after all, but it was much more than that.

The day they met, they had bonded instantly around music and had already made plans to go to some concerts together. And she'd volunteered to go with him to some of his "band hunting" trips. He was sure that she'd be a great asset, considering her impeccable taste in music.

/-/-/-/

January 1st, 1982

12:23 am

WB's house, Milwaukee

They had seen the fireworks in the balcony, all cuddling together. It was a clear night, but it had been snowing most of the previous week and it was really chilly tonight. Steven had hugged Jackie from behind and whispered "happy anniversary" softly in her ear, making her shiver slightly.

Now they were all back inside, escaping from the cold. The music was loud and there were some people dancing in the dining room – Layla had made WB and Steven move the table to one side of the room and install a disco ball. She had really gone all the way for this party.

"Oh, no…" Kitty was saying "we couldn't impose like that"

"Nonsense!" replied Layla. "You can't leave just yet, the party just started"

Hyde could hear Kitty's laughter from the other side of the living room and smiled. He had felt slightly uncomfortable when he'd found out that Kitty and Layla were so friendly that his grandmother already new all the dark secrets of his life. He was a very secretive person; he never spoke much, and he only ever said what he meant. And now he was at a disadvantage because he didn't know much about Layla.

But there wasn't one person in this party that hadn't been charmed by his grandmother. Not even him. And that meant that he was determined to get to know her.

Maybe it was because she seemed like a good mother to WB and a friendly and caring grandma to Angie – and now him too. Or because she got along so well with Kitty, who had been like a mother to him almost for as long as he could remember. Even Betsy liked her.

/-/-/-/

January 1st, 1982

3:11 am

WB's house, Milwaukee

They had taken WB's offer to stay the night. Neither of them had wanted to drive back to Madison tonight. Most guests had left about an hour before and they had stayed a little while talking. Donna and Eric were also staying. Kitty and Red had gone to Layla's house, along with Angie.

"I am going to bed, son" said WB standing up and leaving his plate on the coffee table. "Happy New Year" he added, lightly squeezing Hyde's shoulder.

"Good night, dad" murmured Hyde hoping only WB would hear him. Luckily for him, Donna and Eric were deep in conversation on the other couch. Jackie smiled sweetly at Steven's words, but didn't say anything.

"Thank you for letting us stay here tonight, Mr Barnett" said Donna as he walked past them. He waved them from the threshold and went to his room.

"There's only one thing missing from this party" commented Jackie after a few moments of silence.

"What?" asked Donna and Eric in unison.

"Oh… I think I know" said Steven fishing his lighter from is pocket and handing it to Jackie, who was pulling a joint from her hairdo. Donna looked at her frowning. "Cool trick, huh?" said Steven proudly, looking at Donna's face.


	15. Chapter 15

To the ones that commented, I'm glad you appreciated the new character. As I said before, I borrowed the idea from another FF, but of course added my own twist. Layla will be appearing regularly through the rest of the story and I hope you like her as much as I do. I built this character from a mixture between the warmth and openness of my own grandma, my amazing aunt-friend and the wits of a dear friend from university.

* * *

January 28th, 1982

1:22 pm

Forman's kitchen

Kitty was on the phone with Layla when she saw a short woman with dark hair – and more wrinkles than one would expect for her age – walking towards the kitchen's sliding door through the driveway. "Oh, dear…" exclaimed Kitty in a whisper. On the other side of the line, Layla stopped in the middle of the sentence and asked if there was something wrong. "That's what I would like to know" replied Kitty.

"What is it, dear?" said Layla.

"It's nothing… don't worry, this is just unexpected" said Kitty as the woman came up to the kitchen door and waved at her. "I am going to have to call you back, dear" and just hung the phone.

"Edna? I wasn't expecting you!" said Kitty, nervous and dead serious. "I guess you are looking for Steven?" she asked.

/-/-/-/

1:45 pm

The ringing of the phone interrupted their conversation, and as Kitty went to pick it up, Edna looked uncomfortably around the kitchen sipping her tea and wishing it were a Long Island iced tea instead of regular tea.

"Of course!" said Kitty's voice. She was feeling more and more nervous "Did she? Oh, no, dear. Tell her I'm sorry for worrying her… I just received an unexpected visitor… Yes, I'll call you both back, don't worry… Ok, goodbye sweety"

Kitty looked at Edna for a second before putting the receiver back on the phone. For some reason she felt really uneasy about this visit.

/-/-/-/

1:47 pm

Choice's records

"Well, that was weird" said Hyde to no one, hanging up the phone. He picked it up again and dialled another number. "She's fine" he said. "Said she got an unexpected visitor… No, I don't think it's Pastor Dave, she would have just said that… Well, I have no idea… Yeah, I thought it was weird too… Ok, _granny_, see you tomorrow"

He hung up quickly, lest Layla started yelling into his ear for calling her _granny;_ something that she absolutely hated. But she had called him _boy, _so she'd asked for it. He picked up the phone again.

"Hey, Doll… Finishing up everything for tomorrow… Yeah, it's going to be a different kind of trip… What time should I pick you up? … Ok, see you later, love"

/-/-/-/

January 29th, 1982

8:47 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

A sigh of relief escaped her as she dropped her bag next to the door and started to take off her coat. She was more tired than she'd thought possible; the drive to Point Place had been harder than usual with all the snow.

"Hey! You're here" exclaimed Brooke's cheerful voice from the kitchen door.

Donna walked in behind Jackie, brushing snow from her coat and hair. "Woah, that was rough" said Donna with a smile, nonetheless. Leaving her bag next to Jackie's and walking up to give Brooke a hug.

"I am so glad you got here early" said Jackie, joining their friends hug.

"I know, this place was colder than a freezer" Brooke commented, smiling.

They had been organizing a girl's weekend ever since Steven told her he had to go to New York for the weekend to see some bands. Brooke's mission was to go to the apartment early in the afternoon to turn on the thermostat and Jackie and Donna would bring supplies for a movie night. They were only missing Rachel, Fez's girlfriend.

/-/-/-/

10:06 pm

She wasn't expecting any calls, so she was surprised when the phone rang. Brooke got up to pause the movie as Donna picked up the receiver, being the one sitting closest to it.

"Hi, Mrs. Forman" said Donna when she heard Kitty's high-pitched voice. "Yes, she's here" she said, looking at Jackie. She was about to give her friend the phone, but Kitty was still talking. "No, Hyde's not here… yeah, ok" she said after a moment, confused.

"She said that she'll see us tomorrow at lunch" Donna explained, shrugging, after hanging up the phone.

/-/-/-/

January 30th, 1982

2:41 pm

Foreman's kitchen

Donna and Eric had left right after lunch to go to the movies and Red was watching TV in the living room. Jackie and Kitty were alone in the kitchen, putting everything away and starting a bunch of cupcakes. Kitty was impressed to see that Jackie was getting so good at baking, though she knew that Steven did most of the cooking in their house.

"Steven's mother is back" said Kitty suddenly, as if she was commenting on the weather.

"His… what?" asked Jackie. For a second, she had forgotten he had a mother.

"I didn't want to tell him on the phone" she said, nervous.

Jackie just looked at the older woman, not really knowing what to say. When Edna left, she wasn't friendly with Steven yet and she never really got to know her. He never talked about her, except to use as an example of crappy parenting, drunkenness, and awful cooking skills. Neither of them ever talked about their mothers actually.

"Did she say why she's back?" asked Jackie after a while.

"Not really" replied Kitty. Neither of them said anything else. Jackie could see how uncomfortable this made Kitty feel, and now she understood why Red had been quieter than usual at lunch.

Jackie sighed, trying to get Edna out of her thoughts. She didn't like how much Steven's mother's return was affecting her mood all of a sudden. She had been so happy to spend a weekend with her friends back in Point Place – she had gotten used to Steven's trips and had soon learned to enjoy those moments by herself or with her friends. But now the only thing she wanted was to be back home in Madison with him.

"Hey… don't take it out on the eggs" chuckled Kitty, nervously.

Jackie sighed deeply, putting the bowl down. "I don't like this, Mrs. Forman" said Jackie, not taking her eyes from the fluffy eggs. She sighed deeply and counted slowly until she felt her body relax a little bit.

Jackie knew that Steven's life had been tough ever since he could remember, which had only become worse once Bud had left. But, in a way, Edna's leaving had been a blessing for him, because he had had the Formans. Has he had put it once, he probably would have ended up in prison… or dead in a ditch. But this, Edna being back, would stir up long buried feelings. And Jackie wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his Zen.


	16. Chapter 16

February 1st, 1982

7:42 pm

Jackie and Hyde's house

She put the book down and jumped off the bed as soon as she heard the door open and raced downstairs to see Steven leaving the keys, wallet, and shades on the table. He was slightly hunched, which meant that he was really tired. But he straightened as soon as he turned around and saw her stepping off the last step. They embraced for a very long moment.

"You have no idea how much I needed this" she whispered, holding him tight, resting her head on his chest.

He held her for a while, waiting for her to relax. "Is everything all right, doll?" asked him, pulling slightly away to look into her eyes.

Jackie sighed deeply and led him to the living room, lit only by the fire in the hearth. There was a plate of sandwiches and a bottle of apple juice in the coffee table.

"Did something happened?" asked Steven, sitting on the couch next to her and taking her hand.

"Not really…" she said and paused for a moment taking a deep breath. "Edna is back"

He looked at her with a blank expression, but she could tell there was something boiling inside him; he was twitching his left hand, almost imperceptively. After a moment he pulled his gaze from hers and looked around the living room, almost as if he expected to see his mother emerge from a dark corner.

"What does she want?" asked him dryly, jaw tense and fists clenched.

"I don't know…" she said, uneasy. She knew he would not take it well, but he looked as if he was about to jump on his feet and start throwing things to the other side of the room. "She went by the Forman's on Thursday afternoon".

They remained in silence for a long while. He stood up and paced in front of the fireplace for a few minutes, muttering unintelligibly to himself. _She was probably there when I called_, he thought. No wonder Kitty had sounded so nervous on the phone. _Why didn't she say something when she called back that night?_ He went back to the couch were Jackie was still sitting, looking at him in silence. He sat again next to her, face unreadable, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbed a sandwich.

/-/-/-/

9:25 pm

He had been silent most of the evening. She hadn't wanted to pressure him to talk about Edna, so she'd told him a bit about her weekend, in hopes of distracting him. She told him about movie night with the girls and how awful the drive to Point Place had been. She told him a about the beautiful coat she'd bought for Betsy and how much their goddaughter had loved it; and how much she'd missed her _big human._

They had gone to bed very early. They were both tired, but for some reason they didn't feel like falling asleep just yet. They were cuddling under the thick winter duvet. Jackie was glad to finally having him next to her. She had been slightly stressed the whole weekend, especially whenever he had called. He would usually call once every other day while he was on a business trip, and luckily for her, he'd just called once that Saturday afternoon. She and Kitty had been so busy baking that he'd just attributed her nervousness to the cookies. Like Kitty, she hadn't wanted to tell him about Edna over the phone.

They were both silent. She was laying on her side with her head popped on her hand, looking at him, gently stroking his chest as it rose and fell slowly, rhythmically. He was looking into infinity with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. At first, he hadn't known how to react. Until Jackie mentioned her name, he'd almost forgotten he had a mother - not that Edna had ever been much of a mother anyway. He was thinking of that phone conversation years ago, when she'd told him that she wasn't coming back. He hadn't heard from her in a very long time afterwards, until he had a double disappointment when Bud hooked up with Edna and they left him… again.

He had felt frustrated and humiliated to go back to the Forman's. Looking back, he thought that he should have known that living with Bud wouldn't last. He was angry at himself for being so naïve. And he was glad to know that he could count on the Formans and his friends.

After that first moment of turmoil he'd taken a deep breath and started pacing from the living room to the dining room and back. He'd walked all the way to the French doors and looked at the big oak in the backyard. He'd always wanted to have a backyard with a big tree.

"Are you ok?" asked her, snuggling closer to him.

Snapping back to the present he turned his head slightly to the left to focus on her face. He smiled then, just a small fraction of a smile. "Yeah… I'm good, doll" he said, gently stroking her face. "If anything, I should thank he for leaving me" he added with a humorless smile and kissed her lightly.

"Aren't you curious why she's back?" asked her. "She told Kitty that she wanted to see you…"

"Whatever" he shrugged, perfectly Zen. "There's nothing she can say or do that can hurt me anymore"

He thought of the woman in his arms and the big oak tree in the back yard. He thought of the Formans, all his friends, his _little human_, WB, Angie and Layla… _I wouldn't have any of this if she hadn't left_.

After a few minutes of silence, he shook his head and sat up on the bed swinging his legs to the side of the bed and looking for a hoodie, it was cold out of the bed.

"I have to make a call… I'll be right back, doll" and he walked downstairs to the study.

/-/-/-/

10:18 pm

Foreman's kitchen

Kitty was still stress-baking. There were three piles of cookies on the table – peanut butter, chocolate chip, and oatmeal and raisins, two pies – apple and sweet potato, and lemon glazed pound cake. She would have to go to Kelso's and Fez's houses the next day so the sweets wouldn't go to waste. She had just put the brownies in the oven when the phone rang, and she hurried to pick it up.

_"__Hello Mrs Forman"_ said Steven's voice on the other side of the line.

"Steven! How… how was the trip?" asked her, slightly nervous. She knew that he would have been home at least for a couple of hours, so Jackie would have told him about his mother by now.

_"__It was ok… Layla is a handful" _he commented, chuckling. _"But she was a great asset"_.

Kitty wished she was talking face to face with him instead of over the phone. She couldn't know for certain if his calm attitude was real or just his _Zen_ façade, but she didn't want to ask him either.

"I'm very glad you invited her to come along" said her after a second of silence.

_"__Oh, she invited herself"_ replied him, laughing _"But I guess that's just her"_.

"I sent you a rhubarb pie…" she said, suddenly embarrassed about the enormous piles of sweets laying on her table.

_"__Oh, yeah! It's delicious"_ replied him, good-naturedly. _"Jackie told me all about your stress-baking"_

"Oh… she did" she wanted to sound carefree and cheerful, but the image of Edna sitting at that very same table was starting to upset her again. "So, she told you about your mother…"

_"__Hey"_ he cut her in the middle of the sentence, his voice still calm. _"Edna is _not_ my mother…"_ he said, firmly. She was about to say something, but he kept talking, this time in a softer tone. _"…if anyone deserves that title, it's you"_

* * *

Is this too much OOC? Maybe .. but he's always been so nice and sweet with Kitty. And part of the idea of this fic is having them (J+H) healing their own personal stuff, not only their ups and downs as a couple.

I hope you liked it!


	17. Chapter 17

March 5th, 1982

4:17 pm

Point Place Price-Mart

Hyde had gone to the store to pick up some last-minute things for Mrs. Forman. He never liked shopping very much, but Jackie was helping with the baking and Donna and Forman had not arrived from Madison yet. They usually had long Friday afternoons at school and as much as Forman had wined and complained about it, he wasn't going to skip class, even if it was his birthday. And of course, Hyde had made fun of his friend and laughed good-naturedly at his expense. Unlike Forman and Donna, Hyde and Jackie had been able to skip work that afternoon. So, now Hyde was _shopping_.

"Steven?"

A coarse voice called his name from the other end of the isle where he was picking things from Kitty's list. He turned around with a can of tuna in one hand and holding the shopping basket on the other.

And there, after almost five years, stood Edna, wearing the dark red uniform of the Price-Mart.

"Ma?" asked Hyde, looking at her half surprised – though he knew she was back in town, and half irritated. He felt like a child again. And all the frustration he'd felt that day she'd called and said she wasn't coming back washed over him with a force that stunned him.

"Hi, son" greeted her, unsure, walking closer to him. His stomach clenched hearing him call him _son_. Nowadays the only person that did that was WB, and with good reason. "I went to see you at the Forman's" she said.

"They told me" replied him, dryly.

"Kitty told me you met William" said Edna, uncomfortably.

"Yeah… and Angie and Layla" he said, tightening his grip on the shopping basket on his left hand. Hyde could tell that Edna was trying really hard to make conversation with him, but she was just not doing a good job of it. He did not want to talk to her about the Formans or Barnetts or anybody in his life, actually. They stood there in silence between canned produce and packets of rice and pasta. "What do you want?" asked him more coldly than he'd intended

She looked at him slightly taken aback. She knew that she had not been a good mother to him, but she always knew that he was a sweet kid under that though façade. It hurt her to see him being so cold towards her, but deep down she knew that she deserved it.

"I got clean" she said, handing him the pin she'd been clutching. He took it and, deep down, was glad to see the _"9 months"_ engraved on the metal chip. "I just… I'm sorry, kid"

/-/-/-/

11:23 pm

Foreman's basement

It had been a raucous and fun party. Kitty had gone all overboard for Eric's 22nd birthday. Everyone was here, including some of Eric's and Donna's college friends and Angie. There had been dancing and drinking and a whole bunch of firecrackers pulled out from Kelso's pockets. The gang had not been able to get all together since New Year's, so they had been extra noisy.

Red had been more than happy to take Kitty upstairs and retire for the night as everybody filed downstairs to the basement. They were all sitting in the circle, including Angie and all of Eric's and Donna's friends from UW.

There were too many people in the circle to even try to make sense of the conversation. Everybody seemed to be talking at the same time without listening to anybody else. Hyde was looking around with a stupid grin on his face. _Maybe I did drink more than I ought to_, said a small part of his brain as he rubbed his face. He stood up, took a popsicle from the deep freeze, and leaned on it looking around the basement. It had been ages since it had been so full of people chatting, drinking, smoking.

The weed had put him in a weird state. He had been able to push his thoughts and feelings about Edna since he came back from the store, focusing instead on helping Kitty with the preparations for Eric's party and later hanging out with everybody. But now his guard was down, and he kept going over his conversation with Edna in the middle of the Price-Mart.

"Why so lonely" asked a voice next to him. He didn't see Angie walking towards him. She was sitting on top of the deep freeze as if she'd been there all along.

Hyde put his hand on his pocket and retrieved the sobriety chip that Edna had given him that afternoon. Angie looked at him puzzled. "Edna" explained him, simply. "Making amends" he added after a moment.

"How did it go?" asked her.

He shrugged, putting the coin back in his pocket. "Well, I guess… I don't know…"

He had not known what to say; he'd felt ambushed. They were standing in the middle of the grocery store and he'd just been frozen to the ground listening to only half of what she was saying.

"I told her I was fine" he said after a moment. "I wanted to give her the freaking coin back, but she wouldn't take it… and then she just left"

He shrugged again; his fingers still tense around the coin.

They remained silent a little while, looking around Eric's birthday party in full swing. On the big couch, Jackie was laughing at something Rachel was telling her and next to her Fez looked embarrassed. _That must have been a good burn_, thought Hyde, looking at Rachel's mischievous smile.

On the other side of the room Brooke was searching Kelso's pockets, trying to confiscate the remaining firecrackers, though it looked like she was just tickling him. Next to them, Donna was sipping her beer, watching them with amusement. Eric was sitting on the steps leading to the kitchen, talking with some friends from college. He had a dreamy face that told Hyde that his friend was as high as can be, probably talking nonsense.

Hyde took the coin out again and looked at it for a minute, frowning. He knew that he'd run into Edna sooner than later. Kitty had told him she was back in town and eager to see him, though she hadn't said why. For a while he'd thought it had to do with the fact that he'd found out about WB.

But when a whole month passed and she still didn't seek him out again, he thought maybe he wouldn't have to see her. Maybe she had skipped town again, as she had many times before, leaving him behind.

His grip on the coin tightened and his frown deepened. He wasn't sure why this still bothered him so much.

"I got you, bro" said Angie softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a light squeeze.

His muscles relaxed under Angie's hand and he let out a deep sigh. Maybe Edna would skip town again soon enough. Maybe she would fuck her sobriety and run away with Bud or whoever again.

But he wouldn't be alone.

Looking around the crowded basement, he realized he never had been left alone, really.

He patted Angie's hand still on his shoulder and smiled at his big sister.

Maybe it really was fine. Maybe he should be thankful that Edna had left five years ago. Somehow, today, he knew that Edna would not show up in his life again, and maybe it was a good thing that he kept the sobriety chip. It was a token to remind him that after all she still thought of him but knew she didn't have a place in his life anymore. And that wasn't a bad thing, it was just a fact of life.

* * *

I always wondered what became of Edna .. what do you think?


	18. Chapter 18

So there's a character that I've mentioned a couple of times but only briefly. Here's a bit more about her.

* * *

May 8th, 1982

4:10 pm

Point Place City Park

They were back in Point Place for the weekend, for Brooke's birthday. The weather was so unusually nice that she and Kelso had decided to do a picnic in the park instead of the dinner party they had originally planned.

After a chaotic and abundant lunch, they had settled under the shade of the trees. Red, Kitty, Bob and Sarah – Bob's girlfriend – had left a little while back. It was just the eight of them… plus Betsy, who was sleeping on a blanket between Jackie and Brooke.

"I can't believe how much everything has changed" said Donna looking at her friends.

"And somehow everything is pretty much the same" commented Jackie.

"Except that we are in a circle" said Kelso "but not in _the circle_"

Rachel, who was Fez's girlfriend for a year and a half now didn't get Kelso's comment at first and looked around dumfounded for a second. "He's talking about _film_" explained Eric who was sitting next to Rachel, seeing her confusion. This only confused her more, until he did a gesture with his hand. She blushed at her forgetfulness. She had been in _the circle_ with them many times before, of course. Everybody else laughed loudly and Fez kissed her lovingly.

The laughter woke Betsy up, who sat up looking around confused for a moment and then crawled over to Hyde. She snuggled on his lap and fell back asleep.

"Donna's right" said Eric looking at his best friend. "If _that_ is not change, then I don't know what is". They all laughed again, this time not as loudly.

Jackie was looking at Steven, who was gently stroking Betsy's hair with a sweet smile on his face.

/-/-/-/

6:23 pm

Brooke and Kelso's house

The conversation had drifted inevitably to anecdotes and inside jokes. Despite being the newest member of the gang, Rachel already knew most of the stories and Fez had explained most of the inside jokes, so she never felt left out. She got along really well with everybody, especially with Donna.

They were now sitting side by side in a corner, talking enthusiastically. Jackie looked at them and smiled. Years ago, she would have been incredibly jealous about that. Jackie was amazed at how much she had changed in all the time after the whole Vegas fiasco.

She had forgiven Donna wholeheartedly and they had gone back to being best friends. But this was a different kind of friendship. Since their fallout over Steven and Samantha, Jackie had learned to let go of the childish dependence she had once had for her friend.

_A few days after Steven's birthday they were all hanging out in the basement, just like old times. Donna and Eric had just come home for winter break. Everybody was there already, except for Fez._

_"__Did he said if she's coming?" Donna asked Eric._

_"__He didn't say, but I guess she is" he replied, popping his feet on the rainbow cushion stool and knocking down an empty can of beer that stood precariously on the edge of the table._

_"__Who?" asked Brooke from the other side of the table, taking a slice of pizza from the box._

_"__You haven't met Rachel?" asked Donna, surprised._

_Jackie and Brooke shook their heads. "Yeah, they came to the store a few days ago" said Steven, getting a weird look from Jackie. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you" said Steven shrugging._

Fez had arrived just then, followed by a beautiful girl, with shiny caramel-colored hair and deep brown eyes. She was easygoing and she already knew many stories about everybody. She was very well aware of Fez's and Jackie's short relationship and didn't mind at all that they were still friends, just as Brooke had never really minded Jackie's and Kelso's past either.

And Jackie had felt left out not only because Rachel seemed to already be such good friends with Donna, but also because Fez – who was _supposed to _be her friend and confidant, hadn't told her anything about Rachel. She even felt slightly mad at Steven for not telling her about meeting Rachel either.

Rachel was charming, funny and engaging, all in the perfect balance. But Jackie could only see how Michael, Eric and Steven had greeted her so openly, how Donna had made room in the couch for Rachel to sit next to her, how even Brooke - who hadn't met her before, fell so easily into conversation with her.

_She went up the stairs to the kitchen and sat at the table, absentmindedly sipping a glass of water._

_"__You know…" said Steven voice, startling her "that feeling you have there" he continued pointing towards her heart "is called _jealousy_"._

_Her head snapped up and she glared at him. He just looked back at her, unperturbed by her glare, smiling pleasantly. He held her gaze for a few more seconds before leaning down and kissing her lightly. Without another word he straightened and walked back to the basement door._

_"__Oh, and by the way" he said, with his hand on the doorknob "I had bigger things on my mind that day" he said mysteriously._

_After Steven left, she just stared at the wall in front of her for a while, until she started laughing almost hysterically. She had come such a long way from the petty jealousy bouts of her younger self. True, that version of her was just a year younger. But so much had happened in that year._

_She and Donna had talked at length and fixed their friendship. Brooke had become a good friend and she had never even frowned at her for being Michael's ex-girlfriend. Eric had stopped calling her _"the Devil"_ and they had become good friends too. She and Fez had broken up after a short and weird romantic relationship and now were even better friends than before. She and Steven had been back together for almost a year now, living together, planning a future together._

_It was just silly to feel threatened by someone new. Someone that easily got along with all her friends. Someone that Fez clearly loved. Someone that was so very different from Fez's previous girlfriends, too._

Yes, she had grown, and so had all her friends. They were all happy, they all had their own lives, with their own projects and goals. And they all still had each other. She smiled happily at the scene in front of her.

/-/-/-/

9:09 pm

Kelso and Brooke's basement.

After Betsy had been put to bed for the night, they had decided to go downstairs so they wouldn't wake her up if they were too loud.

This basement was similar to the one in the Foreman's place, but instead of chairs and couches it had huge cushions around a low squared table. There were beers and snacks on the table, and they were all sitting or lounging on the multiple cushions, talking amiably.

Kelso had gone to the back room, where he was very loudly searching for something. "On the top shelf in the back" shouted Brooke, from her seat. They heard a few muffled curses from the room and after a few minutes Kelso emerged with a triumphant smile.

By this time, they had all quieted and where looking at Kelso questioningly.

"Now is time for a _real_ circle" said Kelso, bowing ceremoniously.


	19. Chapter 19

May 15th, 1982

4:07 pm

Hyde and Jackie's apartment

"Makes you wanna have your own, doesn't it?" asked Brooke looking at Jackie's adoring face. Betsy was sleeping in the middle of hers and Steven's bed, surrounded by pillows. Brooke's voice snapped Jackie out of her trance. Brooke and Michael had just gotten back from a week-long wedding anniversary getaway and just as the year before, Betsy had stayed with her godparents for the week.

Jackie had been going around the room picking up the last things to put in Betsy's suitcase when the little girl had turn around in her sleep muttering something that sounded very much like "Stairway to heaven"; Steven had bombarded his goddaughter with Led Zeppelin, and she seemed to enjoy it.

Jackie blushed at Brooke's comment and took a deep breath before replying. "There are many things that I thought I wanted… and I've come to realize that most of them I never needed. I do want kids, though… but not yet"

She smiled at that. _Not yet_. She looked briefly at her left hand, where a small yellow and blue gemstone flower sparkled. _Not yet_ had turned into _soonish_. But she knew then that she still wasn't prepared to turn _soonish_ into _now_. And that also meant that she wasn't ready to be a mother either.

5:48 pm

"That was more intense than I thought it would be" said Steven, dropping onto the couch, sighing.

She dropped next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, taking his hand.

"It was fun, though" she added, also sighing, and closing her eyes.

"So… did Broke told you we should have our own?" asked him after a while. Her head shot up and she turned to look at him, slightly amused but mostly annoyed. "No, Doll… I wasn't listening behind the door" he said quickly. "And yes, I can read your mind" he added, laughing at her expression.

"She said something like that…" she replied then, cautiously.

"Kelso would not stop talking about it while you guys were packing _Little human's_ stuff" he explained.

"I know we talked about this a while back, but…" she said after gathering her thoughts for a moment

"But you're not ready" he said. It wasn't a question. "_We_ are not ready".

She sighed again, happy to know that they were on the same page, that he understood her so well.

Betsy had been an accident. And it had turned out to be an amazing accident. Just her existence had made Kelso grow up all of what he hadn't in his almost twenty years. He was still an impulsive and somewhat childish guy, but he had become a good and responsible father. _And he hasn't messed up at work either_, Jackie thought with a smile.

But they were still very young.

It was true that her parents had had her very young, only one or two years older than she was right now. But back then they had just done what society and their families expected of them. Pamela had become a housewife just like her mother and grandmother had been. Jack had landed on a job that he wasn't trained for, just because of who his father had been. And since everything he had, had just landed on his lap, he never questioned the wrongness of what he did later.

And Jackie had been on the same path as her mother.

But her father did what he did, and she had had to learn the hard way how to _be_ and how to _live_ outside of that path.

She had begun her own path, and she still needed to _be_ and _do_ so much more.

11:24 pm

Jackie was sleeping peacefully by his side, her arm resting across his chest and her leg tangled with his.

He was tired, but he wasn't ready to fall asleep just yet. Pat of his mind needed to review the past week. Having Betsy over for almost a whole week had been fun, exhausting and easier than he'd thought it would be. It had also been completely different from the last time, since Betsy had been much younger and didn't move around so much, so fast.

They fell into a small routine pretty easily. While he prepared breakfast, Jackie would hop into the shower and then dress herself and _Little human_, as Steven liked to call her. Jackie had asked for leave from work, but they couldn't get behind on research for show's content, so her boss had agreed to let Jackie work from home, as long as she sent reports back every other day. Steven would take Betsy with him to Grooves, so Jackie could do her work without many distractions. Betsy loved Groove's, and Steven soon discovered that she also loved Led Zeppelin, which was the perfect excuse to go through all their records during that week.

Of course, they had had tons of help from the Foremans and their friends. Kitty had insisted that he, Jackie and Betsy go for lunch everyday, and the _Little human_ had stayed with Kitty a couple of afternoons as well, when the days at Grooves had been more busy than usual.

Every day each of their friends had stopped by Grooves for a whole morning or afternoon to help keep an eye on Betsy who would usually play quietly in The Pit or behind the counter. She especially liked Leo and would coax him with her big beautiful eyes and chubby hands to play with her for hours on end. To which he obliged most willingly.

Yes, he had enjoyed spending time with his goddaughter. But even though he was sure that he and Jackie would be good parents together, he still felt too young for that.

That day in Laurie's old room about two years before, while they watched Betsy sleep, they had both reflected on how messed up their parents had been as parents. In very different ways, but all four of them had been a parenting mess. Now he had WB, but it was different, because he was almost all grown up when he met him. And more importantly, he had already set himself on his own path into adulthood.

His mind lingered for a moment on his last conversation with Edna, at the beginning of March. She was doing better, that much was obvious. She'd been sober for 9 months then and he hoped she still was. For the first time he wondered what had happened to make her go to AA. _It must have been something big_, he thought, since it was the first time – as far as he'd ever known – that she'd look for help.

Still, he had made his peace with her after that day. The feeling that he'd never see her again wouldn't leave him. It was slightly unsettling to have that certainty, but it was good. And somehow he knew that she knew, too.

And yes, his and Jackie's parents had been awful parents. But they hadn't had much of a choice, considering who they were as people.

Even before Bud and Edna had drifted into the world of drugs and alcohol and endless partying, they had never had a real idea of who they were or what they wanted to do with their lives. They had no ambition.

Funny how life worked. Years before Jackie had complained about _his_ lack of ambition.

So far, he was still trying to figure out exactly who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. Not in terms of work, he already had a job he loved and enjoyed. It was deeper than that, but at least he knew that he wanted, he _needed _to figure that out. And that was _ambition_.

And he felt like he needed to figure those things out before becoming a father.


	20. Chapter 20

I'm glad you're liking Layla .. it's a very fun character to write.

Beware of the timestamps .. and since I haven't said this lately, characters are not mine [most of them anyways] and obviously the backstory isn't either [otherwise the 8th season would have gone very differently .. I'm sure most of you can relate to that]

Cheers!

* * *

July 1st, 1982

7:54 pm

Gen. Mitchell Int. Airport

He couldn't understand how it was possible that she still had so much energy after the week they had had. He was just dragging his feet behind her, who walked through the crowd at a brisk pace. _Maybe it's because _I _am carrying all the weight_, he thought mockingly seeing her tiny purse hanging from her elbow.

"Hurry up, they have been waiting for nearly three hours" she said without turning back to check if he was still there. He just sighed deeply and pushed forwards.

Originally, they were supposed to be back home in the morning. Their flight had been delayed three times. First it was one hour. _Nothing to terrible_, he'd said. Then, as they were starting to board, the plane had been commandeered for a medical emergency, moving the departure time for four more hours. That was the last time they had updated Angie with their arrival time.

On the next try they had boarded already and were moving towards the runway when the captain had told them that there had been an accident and all flights had been suspended. Apparently, a bird had been sucked by a turbine as the plane was almost ready for takeoff. The turbine had exploded, of course, and there was chaos all around the runway.

Now, almost eight hours later than the original schedule, he only wanted his bed.

/-/-/-/

5:03 pm

Jackie checked the arrivals display with growing confusion. Their flight was supposed to land shortly, but instead the screen told her it would land at 7:38 pm. Angie, always the executive type, had checked with the airline right away and had returned with the story of and exploding turbine and clouds of feathers. There was no point in returning home and coming back later to pick them up, so they just found a coffee place and sat there to wait.

"Its good Dad didn't come" Angie commented as she stirred her coffee. "He hates waiting"

"What if they don't make it in time?" asked Jackie, a bit nervous.

"Delayed for a fourth time?" asked Angie, amused. "Well, that would be the height of bad luck" she chuckled.

They sat in silence for a little while. Jackie had learned to appreciate the quiet moments with Angie. They had become friendly since she and Steven had moved to Madison the year before, but that friendship had grown immensely after Layla's return.

They usually met in the afternoons after work for a cup of coffee or ice cream. Other days they would go to the movies and sometimes they would have their own girl's night drinking wine, eating cheese and crackers and talking for hours. Jackie had been the first to know about Angie's boyfriend, whom she'd been dating for five months now. Neither WB nor Steven knew him, yet.

Some days they would also meet with Layla. As Steven had predicted, she just _loved_ Layla. His grandmother was the perfect balance between a wise grandma, a loving mother and a witty friend. Jackie felt very fortunate to have both Angie and Layla in her life, especially since Donna was always so busy between school and work.

The first few moths living in Madison, Jackie had missed Kitty the most and would call her every week. After Layla had returned there was no need for the phone calls since Kitty had started to hang out with Layla more and more. Layla was older than Kitty, but the two of them got along seamlessly. So, Angie and Jackie started to spend more time with Kitty as well, who drove to Layla's house in Milwaukee ever more frequently. She referred to them as her personal "get-away gang".

_"__You're going to Glenn Oaks _again_?" asked Steven in mocked annoyance, even though he already knew they were going to his grandmother's lake-house. Jackie just smiled sweetly at him and went back to the closet to grab more things. _

_Donna had been slightly reluctant to participate in this "_gal's get-away"_. She still didn't feel as close to Angie as Jackie was, and she still saw Kitty as "_Mrs. Forman, Eric's mom"_. But she liked Layla well enough – there wasn't a person who didn't like her, actually. A few days before the trip Jackie had told Donna to _"just get over it"_ and go with her to Angie's place and get to know her and Layla a bit more._

_"__Is Red coming for the weekend?" asked Jackie in return, closing her small suitcase. He nodded._

_"__And Bob" he added, slightly worried about how that would turn out. He knew WB liked Red much, much better than Bob. _

_"__You're going to be just fine" she said, not really convinced. Steven still didn't have much patience with Bob, just like Red._

A waiter coming to check in on them distracted Jackie from her thoughts. She ordered a slice of cake and a second cup of coffee, while Angie ordered a cup of hot cocoa.

"I will never understand how you can drink hot cocoa in the summer" said Jackie once the waiter had left.

"It's cold in here" said Angie defensively. They both laughed at that.

/-/-/-/

8:17 pm

"Pleeeeease tell me you packed some Zeppelin" pleaded Steven hugging her and burying his face on her black wavy hair. Jackie looked at Angie, puzzled.

Behind them, Layla laughed. "Cheer up, _boy_. It wasn't _that_ bad" she said.

"Oh, yes it _was_" he replied, straightening.

"Really?" asked Angie slightly disappointed. "I had heard such good praise of them"

"Whoever said that, they don't know a thing about good music" declared Layla motioning for them to get out of the airport "That band was just dreadful… _hideous_"

/-/-/-/

July 2nd, 1982

7:02 am

Layla's lake house, Glenn Oaks

Jackie lazily opened one eye and stretched her arms and legs. The sun had just risen, and she still felt very tired. It was nearly midnight when they got to Layla's lake-house and neither of them went to bed before 2 am. But Jackie was so used to waking up at this time that she couldn't help it.

Doing her best not to wake up Steven, she got out of bed, grabbed her robe and walked downstairs to the kitchen. Layla was already there, cooking eggs and waiting for the coffee to be ready

"Morning" said Layla in a cheerful tone, stirring the eggs. Jackie couldn't understand how it was possible that she had so much energy after sleeping only five hours.

Jackie just mumbled something that sounded like "good morning" and sat heavily on a stool, burying her face on her arms.

"You should be sleeping" said Layla, matter-of-factly.

"So do you" groaned Jackie in return.

"Jackie, come back to bed" said Steven's sleepy voice from the top of the stairs.


	21. Chapter 21

DOUBLE TREAT!

Yes! I'm posting TWO chapters at once! Mostly because I figured I have a bunch ready and I've been writing a lot in this quarantine. Also because these two chapters are part of the same "moment"

* * *

July 3rd, 1982

3:38 pm

Layla's lake house, Glenn Oaks

The first day Jackie and Steven had slept through most of the morning. They both had had very busy weeks and Steven was especially tired after spending most of the previous day stressing and waiting for something to happen. Layla had made fun of his "caged syndrome", as she put it, and had just sat on a very uncomfortable chair to read a trashy magazine.

Layla had spent that morning weeding the garden, while Angie read in the porch. Everybody else had arrived during the afternoon and they were set to enjoy a nice and sunny 4th of July weekend.

"You've outdone yourself, Red" said WB patting him in the back. Red had spent most of the afternoon manning the grill. He wouldn't let anyone, especially Eric, get in the way of "a good barbecue". Red smiled pleasantly and sipping his beer finally sat down next to Kitty.

They had all dispersed around the terrace and the yard overlooking the lake. It was a bright and hot day, so they were all hiding under the shade of a tree or inside the house where it was cooler. Fortunately, WB had brought many cases of beer, that were now filling almost half of Layla's fridge.

Jackie was sitting under the shade of a big parasol on one corner of the terrace and was looking, delighted at Betsy playing tag with Steven, Fez and Rachel. If someone had told her four years earlier that Steven would be playing like that with a toddler, she would have thought they were absolutely out of their minds.

/-/-/-/

5:03 pm

After clearing the table, Layla had made it clear that it was the boy's turn to clean up. She was lounging on a big comfortable recliner, sipping one of Kitty's famous margaritas. On either side of Layla, in a similar attitude were Kitty and Angie. Jackie and Donna were looking at them from the other side of the terrace, both also sipping their drinks.

"She's finally asleep" sighed Brooke coming to sit with her friends. It had been hard to put Betsy down for a nap. "I think she's done with naps"

Donna patted Brooke's hand sympathetically and handed her a glass of margarita.

"Hey, Layla!" called Jackie to the older lady. "Since the boys are cleaning… I think we should have a _meeting_"

"Oh, what a wonderful idea, dear" replied Layla, leaving her empty glass on the coffee table and standing up "Come, Kitty"

"A meeting?" laughed Kitty, confused. "What for?"

"Oh, you'll see…" replied Angie, mysteriously.

/-/-/-/

6:18 pm

Glenn Oaks Beach

Jackie and Donna were walking in the lake with the water up to their knees looking for smooth flat rocks. Layla and Kitty had brought foldable chairs and were lazily looking at the younger women in the water. Next to them, Angie, Brooke and Rachel were trying to skip rocks, not very successfully.

"You know" said Kitty to Layla "as a nurse I should be totally against this". The girls all turned to hear the conversation. But Kitty didn't say anything else.

The men found them laughing loudly in the beach. Hyde and WB exchanged a meaningful look and said "_Meeting" _at the same time. Luckily Red did not hear them, and Kitty wasn't being louder than usual, so he didn't suspect anything was amiss. Hyde was sure that they were not as high as they might have been when they first had their _meeting_, but he was glad Kitty was wearing shades, otherwise it would have been too obvious even to Red. Neither Hyde nor WB wanted to have to deal with Red's righteousness right now.

"Hey, wanna hear the cassette that we brought from Florida?" asked Hyde to WB after a while.

WB looked at him, confused, for a second. "But you already… oh! Yes, yes, I'd like to listen to the band" he said, realizing his son's intentions.

/-/-/-/

July 5th, 1982

9:31 pm

Jackie and Hyde's house

Jackie was fast asleep when Steven parked her car on the driveway. Luckily, Layla had gone back to Milwaukee with WB, so he'd only had to drop Angie by her apartment. Carefully he'd taken her in his arms and carried her to their bed and let her sleep.

He had been downstairs organizing the stuff they had brought back from Layla's house. He didn't even bother to unpack their clothes, he just took the bag to the laundry room, he'd do that tomorrow.

Then, he put the records back in the shelf. He'd been extremely glad to see half of his Zeppelin collection and several Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and Jimmy Hendrix on the box of essentials that Jackie had packed. He still shuddered at the thought of the band Layla and he had gone to see in Florida.

He was putting some left-over groceries in the pantry when he heard Jackie's feet dragging downstairs.

"I think I got sun stroked" groaned Jackie, coming int the kitchen. She had been in the backyard playing with Betsy the whole afternoon and was feeling slightly feverish and dizzy.

"Either that, or you turned into a lobster" said Steven, in jest. She chuckled, amused, but staggered slightly and he rushed to help her to a chair. "You should have stayed in bed, Doll"

"I guess so…"

/-/-/-/

10:17 pm

Safely back in bed, Jackie drank her tea slowly, while Steven told her more about the trip with Layla. It had been the third time she went with him on a trip, and like every time, it had been sort of an adventure.

"I don't know where she gets all the energy" said Steven, half amused and half incredulous. "There were days that I was struggling to keep up with her" he added, with a wide smile.

She laughed softly. She always liked seeing him so openly happy. It was a rare sight, even for her. But there was something special about Layla. She could be so unpredictable at times, that there was no way for him to keep his guard up. Layla was friendly and open with everybody; engaging, carefree and had an easy laugh. But there was something especial about the way she was with Steven, and Jackie wasn't sure he realized it.

"It was different than the other trips and at first I couldn't understand why" said Steven after a long silence.

"And what was it"

"Edna went to see her…" said Steven, scratching the back of his head. "I think it was a few days after we came back from that first trip"

"What? Why didn't she say anything before?"

He shrugged. He'd wondered the same thing, and he'd asked Layla.

"I guess she wanted to wait until I saw her…"

He stood and went to the other side of the room, where he took something from a small box on top of the chest of drawers. He sat on the bed next to her and handed her the AA chip. She just looked at him, confused.

"I ran into her on the Price-Mart" explained Steven, shrugging noncommittally.

"But you haven't…" said Jackie, more confused. "Eric's birthday? But that was ages ago"

"She said she was sorry and she gave me this" said Steven, looking at the chip.

"Why didn't you tell me…?"

He shrugged again. He kind of wanted his shades right now. "I don't know… it didn't matter". He took her hand, hoping to stop whatever she was about to say. "It _does not_ matter" he repeated, emphatically. "I told you, there's nothing she can do or say that can hurt me"

She looked at him intently, trying to see past the _Zen _façade. But there wasn't: his nonchalance was real. He laughed softly, without humor but slightly amused at her skepticism, and shrugged one more time.

He kissed her gently on the lips and took the cloth from her forehead to rinse it again with cold water. Her slight fever was almost gone and she was half asleep when he took the mug from her hands and got into the bed next to her.


	22. Chapter 22

September 5th, 1982

4:33 pm

WB's house, Milwaukee

It was a long weekend and normally they would have gone to Layla's house in Glenn Oaks, but she was having the kitchen re tiled and the contractors had taken longer than what they'd anticipated. So, they had decided to move the barbecuing and the _meetings_ to WB's house.

Steven was exhausted, even after three whole days of "rest". The truth was that he felt OK, but his mind kept reeling. He had had to spend a few days in Point Place the previous week, working on inventory and orders for Groove's with Ryan and Leo. He had been to the Formans' for lunch a couple of days, and Kelso and Brooke had invited him over for dinner one night.

That night Betsy had refused to go to bed unless the _Monster_ \- which is what she'd gotten into calling her godfather nowadays - read her a good-night story and stayed with her until she fell asleep.

The next morning, he had been putting some records back where they belonged, when a young couple - a only a few years older than Jackie and himself, walked into the store with a small toddler holding tight to his mother's neck.

Seeing that both the kid's parents wanted to browse the records, Steven offered to keep an eye on the boy, sat him on the soft rug of the listening pit, and gave him one of the toys that Betsy had left behind the counter a few months back.

A little while later, as the young family left the store with their new records and new toy, Steven couldn't help but wonder how it would be for them if Jackie were to get pregnant.

Today, Steven and Jackie had spent the whole morning playing with Betsy. He loved spending time with his _little human_, playing, laughing, and generally cultivating his patience whenever the little kid wanted to do something to his hair. He'd learned not to complain about it anymore; Betsy was becoming ever more similar to her godmother, and Steven had enough with _one_ Jackie kicking his shins, thank you very much.

And he especially enjoyed seeing Jackie's eyes sparkling with love and tenderness looking at the little girl playing with her dolls and a very big and bright fire truck toy he'd insisted on buying for her. Looking at them together, he knew that Jackie would be an amazing mother.

Now he was laying down in the big couch, listening to the music and keeping the rhythm with his foot and his arm draped over his eyes. He had a lot on his mind tonight and needed some relaxing music. He had chosen the latest album by Eric Clapton, and though he was enjoying the music, he still had a slight frown.

He heard someone coming into the den from the kitchen and lifted his arm to see WB walking to him, a beer on each hand.

"I think, by now I know you enough to know that you're not as relaxed as you seem" commented WB, sitting on a chair across from him and pointing at his frown.

Steven laughed dryly and sat up straight to open his beer and take a deep swig.

"I just have too much on my head" he said, evasively.

He knew that they were alone in the house. Everybody else had gone to the lake to take advantage of the last warm weekend of the late summer. Soon the rains and wind would begin, and they wouldn't have much warmth and sun until the spring.

Steven wanted to use this rare solitude to talk with his father, though he didn't know exactly how to approach the subject. There was still a lot to build for them to have a strong and smooth relationship. After a small silence, Steven spoke again

"Hey, dad" said Steven, still frowning slightly and glad to be wearing his sunglasses. "I wanted to talk to you about something"

"Sure… shoot!"

At the last moment, Steven decided to change path drastically and ask the other thing that had been roaming the back of his mind.

"Did Layla ever tell you about Edna visiting her last January?"

WB sighed, somewhat relieved about the question. He had been wondering for months when his son would ask about this. Coincidentally, he had been at Layla's house when Edna showed up, that being the only address that Edna had for him, from way back when they used to date. It had been a very awkward conversation. Layla had been very upset – and loud about it, and WB didn't really know what to say – even after knowing for a while now about his son and having a good relationship with him. But 23 years was still a very long time and the woman before him was a complete stranger.

_"__How dare you keep him from us?" demanded Layla, with furious tears brimming her eyes. Next to her, WB was trying to calm her down, but he also wanted to know that._

_Every time Kitty, Red or any of Steven's friends would slip anything about his son's childhood – or lack thereof – he couldn't help but become slightly furious with Edna and wonder how different all their lives would have been if he'd know from the beginning that he had a son. WB knew his mother was wondering the same thing. And if Steven had never fallen off the water tower, maybe they would still not know about each other. _

"Edna didn't say much" said WB, continuing the story. "She was going through the steps, making amends and even though the drinking didn't have anything to do with us breaking up, she said that she still needed to apologize to me"

They sat silent for a while, listening to the music. When the music faded with the last song, Steven got up and browsed the records again for a little bit. As he sat back on the couch,_ Tusk_ by Fleetwood Mac was beginning to sound.

"I can't say I blame her completely, though" said WB after a small pause. "I'm not proud about this, but to put it bluntly, I was cheating on Angie's mother and I was kind of glad when Edna disappeared" WB shrugged, uncomfortably.

Steven thought back to the comment he'd made when he'd first met WB, _"Mom must have been pretty relieved when I came out white"_. He'd said that in jest, but what if he hadn't _come out white_? Would he have met his father and sister and grandmother earlier? Would Bud had left sooner? Would Edna had told him the truth or would she just have kept the secret until the end, like she had?

"Mom never knew about Edna until I told her about you" continued WB. "And she was so upset that she didn't want to see me for a long time… that's why you didn't met her sooner"

More and more things were starting to fit into Steven's mind, especially his and Layla's relationship, and also Kitty and Layla's friendship. Layla had made it her job to know as much as possible about her grandson and the best person to get that information from was Steven's foster mother.

WB told him how he was finally able to make peace with his mother by purchasing a ticket to whatever cruise Layla had been on board and stalked her until she deigned to sit down and hear him out.

They sat there for a while, sitting their beers and listening to Fleetwood Mac.

"I wanted to ask you something" said Steven after a while. He took off his glasses and put them down on the table next to his beer. "It's just… Jackie and I… well, you know neither of us had a very memorable childhood and we don't have much appreciation for our parents – the ones we grew up with, that is…"

"Yes, I figured as much… and Kitty told me and your grandmother some more" WB said, matter-of-factly, but Steven could see the hurt in his father's eyes. He tried to smile at him, encouragingly.

"Well… what I mean is…" his mind wondered off for a second, and suddenly thinking of something, he looked back at WB, his eyes dead serious. "Ok, before I say anything… don't make any assumptions about this and _don't_ say any of this to Kitty because we would _never_ hear the end of it… this is _totally_ hypothetical" Steven said, sternly.

WB raised his hands and murmured "Ok… I won't".

After staring at WB for a few seconds, Steven looked away. He was getting nervous and looked at his sunglasses longingly. He'd learned to forego of the glasses for Jackie's sake and would never wear them inside their home. He could do without them now, for his dad.

WB could see the struggle on his son's face but didn't say anything. Even after all this time he still felt the coarse surface of their relationship. It had been slowly eased by interaction, respect, closeness, and complicity. This conversation was like a fine-grained sandpaper, smoothing the surface. He waited for Steven to keep going.

"I know Jackie's never thought about passing on her parent's last name to her children because she's always assumed she'd be married by then…" he shrugged. He didn't need to actually _have _this conversation with Jackie to know this. "The thing is… I don't want my children to have Bud and Edna's last name either"

There was a deep and charged silence then. WB could guess where the conversation was heading and felt the excitement rising. He kept it in check, not wanting to assume anything and waited for Steven continue.

"Well, I was thinking… that maybe Jackie and I can _both_ change our last name when we get married" he looked at WB, nervous and excited. "What do you think?"


	23. Chapter 23

November 11th, 1982

1:04pm

Forman's backyard

"Oh, I'm so glad you could take tomorrow off" said Kitty for the fifth time. Red had refused to move his Veteran's Day barbecue to the weekend even though most people from out of town would not be able to come in the middle of the week.

WB, Angie and Layla had gotten to the Forman's a little over half an hour before Steven, Jackie, Eric and Donna. They had come in the Vista Cruiser, and it had been just like old times, riding the old car, singing, and teasing each other.

Luckily for Eric and Donna, UW had decided to give them Friday off and they'd been able to move their shifts at work. Jackie had had to use one of her vacation days and Steven had taken advantage of the fact that his father– a.k.a. his boss – was also invited to the barbecue.

Kelso was on duty until mid-afternoon, but as soon as they got off the car Jackie had snatched the keys of the Cruiser and went to pick up Brooke and Betsy. As soon as they got to the Forman's house, the little girl was climbing to the top of Steven's head and there was nothing he could do to avoid it. Bob was also present. He had flown in from Florida that same morning and would be staying for a couple of weeks.

The only ones missing were Fez and Rachel, who had gone on a small vacation to New York to celebrate their two-year anniversary.

/-/-/-/

5:13pm

Just like every year, Red had not left the side of the grill for most of the day. People came in and out of the party, but WB had spent most of the afternoon near the grill, talking with Red and taking over whenever Red took a break.

A couple of Eric's friends from school who were also from Point Place stopped by some time in the afternoon and they all went downstairs to the basement for a quick circle and a moment away from the rest of the adults. Brooke had not been able to stay downstairs long though, hearing Betsy calling her from the kitchen.

Not long after Brooke had left – followed soon by Kelso, Jackie had gone upstairs too, to help Kitty and Layla with the baking. After a while, the only ones left downstairs were Steven and Angie. Donna and Eric having snuck up to Eric's room to fool around.

"So, how come Jackson didn't come?" asked Steven handing Angie a popsicle from the deep freeze.

Even though it wasn't easy to distinguish the change on her face whenever she blushed, because of the color of her skin, Steven knew his sister well enough to know she was blushing furiously. Jackson was Angie's boyfriend, and he had only just met him briefly a couple of times.

Angie was a very private person and hadn't said much about her boyfriend neither to her brother nor her father. The only thing that Jackie had told him was that Angie had been dating this Jackson guy since the winter and besides her, only Layla knew him.

"What makes you think he should be here today?" asked Angie, not doing a great job at feigning nonchalance.

"Well… Jackie sort of let it slip that you met his family a couple of weeks ago" Steven shrugged.

_Such a big mouth for such a tiny person_, Angie thought, more amused than irritated. Truth is she had invited Jackson to the barbecue. But he could not miss his grandfather's own Veteran's Day party.

"He's coming on Saturday" she said, after a small silence.

"Cool" Steven replied, noncommittally and aloof.

And even though it wasn't easy to distinguish the difference on his face whenever he was really aloof or when he was forcing the Zen mode, Angie knew her brother well enough to know he was actually really happy for her

/-/-/-/

6:28 pm

Jackie was taking a tray of cookies out of the oven when Steven came in through the sliding door with a mischievous smile on his face and hiding something on his left hand behind his back.

"You done with those?" he asked, reaching to her with his free hand.

"Yes… why?" asked her, slightly suspicious.

"We're going on a _freaking date_" he replied, presenting her with a small box wrapped in shiny paper and a furious pink bow.

"Aaaww, Steven!" she exclaimed, happily taking the present and unwrapping it.

Inside the box she found a very familiar set of keys. Keys that she had not seen in almost four years. She looked between him and the keys, speechless.

"Are these…?"

"Yup" he replied, shortly. She glared at him, waiting for an explanation. "Apparently it sat on a warehouse all this time until some judge or something decided to make a big auction a couple of months ago. Kelso saw it and told me and well… here it is"

/-/-/-/

8:01pm

Mount Hump

They were sitting close together on the back hood of Jack Burkhart's old Lincon, looking at the landscape. They had just finished the pizza and were sharing a pop in companionable silence, until Jackie gave a deep sigh and gave him back the pop, fixing him with her eyes.

"Did you just buy this car to re-enact our first date?" she asked him, amused.

"Maybe" he replied, averting his gaze.

"Oh, Steven you're _such_ a romantic"

He buffed at that, dismissing the idea of romanticism, though deep down she knew it was just an act. He let it slide for a little while and then commented off-handedly

"Well… you do need something better than that crappy old car of yours… I'm sure it'll break into pieces any day now"

She smacked him in the arm, feigning outrage.

"Oh, you very well know that I keep my car in better shape than you keep yours!"

"Hey! That was a low blow and the burn goes right back at you because you're the one fixing the El Camino"

"That's how I know, dummy!"

They kept the banter for a while until Steven decided it was too much mocking for her own good so he turned the teasing into a tickle fight that ended on both of them panting and giggling and almost sliding off the hood of the car.

After taking a long sip of the soda Jackie turned serious again.

"But really, why did you buy it?"

"Because of that date five years ago" he said, shrugging. "Did you really feel nothing?"

There was an eagerness in his eyes that she'd only seen once before: that evening in the apartment after they had a long talk and decided to get back together.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. "I felt more stuff in that one kiss than all of what I'd ever felt with Michael put together"

He just smiled knowingly, softly caressing her face with one hand. "I love you, Doll"

"I love you too, Pudding Pop"

They kissed again, and unlike that first date on that very same spot and sitting on top of that very same car, they both could tell exactly how the other one felt. They broke apart after a little while.

"Did you really just call me '_Pudding Pop_'?" asked him, bemused. It had been a while since he'd heard her call him that.

"Yeah… it doesn't sound right anymore, though" she replied, thoughtful.


	24. Chapter 24

I'm very sorry I didn't update sooner. Last chapter was the last one for 1982 and now we're beggining a new year with a "plot twist" which will be the main topic throughout 1983 and possibly 1984.

This whole new plot line has been very hard to write and shape, but I feel I've reached a point where I'm comfortable with how/where it's going. It was difficult to write about this because I have nearly zero experience on this particular situation, besides what I've read and a few stories I've been told. So this is just my mind going wild. If anyone reading this story has been through something like this, I hope I'm not belittling your experience nor your feelings.

Oh! and WATCH OUT FOR THE TIME STAMPS!

* * *

January 12th, 1983

1:33 am

Madison General Hospital

Her consciousness started to stir between the fog of her thoughts and feelings. Everything around her was dark and eerily silent. And she had a strange and overpowering feeling of emptiness.

Tiny fractions of her being started to become aware of her body again, and she discovered that the darkness wasn't around her, but within. This realization scared her, and she tried to force herself to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt horribly heavy.

The silence was still there. But it was out of her body. She could now hear her heart racing inside her ribcage. She could also hear her breathing which was surprisingly calm considering how fast her heart was hammering.

Giving up on her efforts to open her eyelids, she concentrated on finding the source of that unsettling feeling of emptiness.

/-/-/-/

5:27 pm

She couldn't tell if it had been days or just hours when she was finally able to open her eyes. It wasn't quiet anymore, and she thought it was the noise what had helped her focus enough to regain control of her own body. The first thing she noticed right before opening her eyes was that there was a big hand holding hers, and the first thing she saw was Steven's face. There was a mix of relief, fear and a deep sadness in his eyes.

She tried to ask what was going on, but her throat was too dry. A cup of water and a straw entered her field of vision from the other side and she drank slowly. She was incredibly thirsty but knew she couldn't drink too hastily. "You're in the hospital, sweetie" said Kitty's voice from the other side of her bed as the cup disappeared in that direction, but she only had eyes for Steven. She couldn't understand why he looked so sad; she felt all right, though still a bit sleepy.

Without a word he came closer to her, kissed her lightly on the forehead and rested his head in the pillow next to hers, sighing deeply and stroking her hair. The noise had subsided around them, and she heard the door being closed a few feet away from her bed.

Slowly, some images and sensations started to pop back in her head. Last thing she remembered was walking hurriedly down a long corridor, a stack of folders in her arms. She remembered someone speaking incessantly and slightly out of breath behind her, as if he or she was having trouble keeping with her pace and talking at the same time. Her attention was brought back to the present when Steven pulled his head up from her pillow.

"How are you feeling?" asked him in a low voice

"What happened?" asked her instead "How long was I out?"

"You don't remember?" asked him, a mix of dread and relief in his voice. She couldn't understand how he could have such contradictory feelings at once. She shook her head, his dread starting to seep into her, and another image flowed back into her head.

_A small stab of pain between her ribs made her stop for a second. She felt as if she hadn't been able to stop for even five minutes in the past ten days. One of her co-workers had quit his job from one day to the other, and another had broken his leg and was out for a whole week. This left her with double the work and half the time, right when she wasn't feeling quite well herself._

_Steven had been out that weekend, chasing bands in Seattle with WB and Eric. She had had to work long hours the whole week plus the weekend. She couldn't believe she could be this tired, and it was only Tuesday!_

_She took a deep breath and started speeding again down the corridor when a whole different stab of pain coursed from her ribs to her knees making her loose balance and drop to the ground._

January 11th, 1983

6:15 pm

Groove's

He could hear the phone ringing incessantly in the office, but he was way too happy and relaxed to stand up and pick it up. Leo had scored a really good stash of _film_ and after reviewing the books with Ryan and closing the store, the three of them had put "In through the out door" on the turntable and where enjoying a well-deserved break. The phone could wait.

Three minutes later the phone rang again, and, just like the first time, he ignored it. It could not have been more than two minutes when the phone rang yet again; the song _Carouselambra_ had just started to sound. Exasperated he got up from the couch, walked to his office and answered the phone.

/-/-/-/

6:22 pm

"Damn it, Hyde! Why can't you pick up the damn phone?!" yelled Eric from the door after Ryan had opened it for him. Steven was standing in the middle of the store, caught there by the music coming from the turntable.

He turned his head to look at Eric, an empty look in his eyes. He could see that his friend was saying something, but the only sound getting into his brain was the sound of Plant's voice coming from the speakers. _All of my love, all of my love to you, now_. A small part of his brain knew what the song was about – he'd read it somewhere. And he had heard it many times before, but without really listening.

This time was different. Now he understood perfectly well what the lyrics meant. And the song hit him like a well thrown, mighty punch in the guts, shattering something that he didn't even know he had inside, leaving him breathless.

Without a word he walked out, passing right past Eric as if he wasn't even there.

"What happened?" asked Ryan, confused.

"I'm not sure" said Eric. Kitty had only told him to go find Hyde and tell him that something had happened with Jackie and she was in the hospital, but that she would be ok. But if Jackie was ok, Eric didn't understand why his friend was so unsettled.

Eric followed Hyde out the store, but he was already speeding out of the parking lot. He got into the Vista Cruiser and followed his friend's El Camino to the hospital where Kitty would be surely waiting.

/-/-/-/

9:47 pm

Madison General Hospital

The room was quiet. Steven was sitting in a chair next to Jackie's bed, with her left hand on his. He slid the ring back where it belonged. Kitty had explained that the doctors had had to take it out for surgery.

Kitty tentatively laid her hand on his shoulder as the doctor left the room. Steven stiffened, his breath caught on his throat for a moment. After a couple of seconds, he let go and relaxed slightly on the chair, his breathing going slowly back to normal.

"Did she know?" asked him, after a while.

"They are not sure" she said, her voice soft and soothing "They told me she was half unconscious when they brought her here and whatever she said didn't make much sense"

"And how long…?" asked him, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"Just about four or five weeks"

/-/-/-/

January 22nd, 1983

3:21 pm

Jackie and Hyde's house

He dropped his keys and shades in the table by the door and walked to the kitchen to put the groceries in their place. The house felt too quiet for a Saturday afternoon, even considering recent events.

He wasn't sure how he had managed to explain everything that had happened to her. _To them_. And he also wasn't sure if she had understood all of what he'd said. She had gotten into a kind of catatonic state and didn't seem to be able to say or do much.

She had been discharged from the hospital the next day. When they got home, she had gone straight to bed and fallen asleep faster than he'd thought possible. After that, he felt as if he was living with the ghost of Jackie.

Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night to hear her crying inconsolably. Then he would hold her tightly hoping to soothe her, while doing his best to keep his own tears from falling. And he was exhausted from keeping his own loss from tearing him apart.

After putting the groceries away, he went to their bedroom to find it empty, as was every room in the house.

Prompted by some weird feeling, he opened the closet door and discovered that some of Jackie's clothes were missing.

Twenty minutes later he had called everyone they knew, but nobody had seen her.


	25. Chapter 25

Hello hello! Sorry again for the delay. This is a very crazy time in my life and I have to get too many things done with little time made even smaller by the pandemic.

I hope you're liking this new story line.

Cheers!

* * *

January 26th, 1983

9:01 pm

Foreman's kitchen

"I just don't understand" muttered Hyde, staring at his empty can of beer. The postcard next to it showed a foggy pine forest with a majestic mountain in the back. It read "Mount Rainier" in one corner. He hadn't shaved in days; his hair was a mess and his red eyes had dark circles under them.

Jackie had called Donna the night she'd left to leave a succinct message for him. "I'm ok, don't call the police". And this morning he had gotten that damn postcard on the mail, with an even shorter message: I am fine.

"I think she just needs to grieve" said Kitty, taking the can from his hand.

"What about me?" asked him, harshly. She looked at him questioningly. "It didn't just happen to her"

A small tear rolled down his cheek and he was thankful that it was just him and Kitty in the kitchen. He didn't have the energy to show a strong façade anymore, but he wasn't about to cry in front of Forman or Red.

Ever since the week they had spent with Betsy last spring, he had been imagining what it would be like to have their own little human around. They hadn't talked about kids since that conversation in Laurie's old room almost two years ago, but he had been thinking about how to reach the subject for a while… before all of this happened.

And from what Donna and Brooke had said, Jackie had also been thinking around the same lines… until all of this happened.

/-/-/-/

January 28th, 1983

4:33pm

Groove's

He was sitting on his desk staring at the latest postcard from Jackie. It was the third one. After the one from Seattle he'd gotten one from Portland. This one was from San Francisco. In the back it read: "I'm sorry"

He felt like punching the wall... or drinking a whole warehouse of beer.

_Done that!_ He thought sarcastically. _And she left me... again_, he added, pissed at himself.

He took a deep breath and run his hands through his hair. He didn't know what to make of Jackie leaving and he was feeling both sad and angry, which was never a good combination.

Leaving the postcard in his desk, he walked out into the store where a couple of customers were browsing the crates, and another was setting a small vinyl – a single – on the turntable. As soon as it started, he recognized the song from a BBC show from 1969. "Dammit" he muttered and walked out of the store, while Plant's voice declared _"The girl I love, yeah, she got long black wavy hair"_

/-/-/-/

January 30th, 1983

Eric and Donna's apartment

9:19 pm

"Have you heard anything else from her?" asked Donna, folding a shirt and putting it on a drawer.

After that first phone call to Donna and the postcards for Hyde, Jackie had not contacted anybody in almost two weeks. Donna and Eric, the Formans, WB, Angie and Layla were all worried about Jackie, but nobody could understand how he was feeling.

"Just the postcards" he replied from his spot on the floor, leaning back against the side of her bed, not looking up from the spot right in front of him, just below the window. They remained in silence while Donna folded and put away her laundry and Hyde looked into infinity, lost in thought.

_Maybe this is how she felt when I went away to Las Vegas_, he thought, bitterly, closing his eyes and taking a deep shaky breath. The main difference was that at least she was keeping contact - barely, but contact. And that, he thought, meant that she was coming back.

"Did she know?" asked Donna after a while, sitting on the floor next to him.

"No…" he murmured, sadness creeping up his face again. "It was too soon anyway" he said lightly, shrugging unconvincingly.

/-/-/-/

February 2nd, 1983

8:11 pm

Jackie and Hyde's house

He was exhausted.

He had buried himself in work ever since Jackie had taken off, in hopes of distracting himself from the fact that his fiancée had abandoned him without a word right after losing their unborn child.

He rubbed his sore eyes before opening the door and sighed heavily, stumbling inside. As a habit, he left his keys, wallet, and shades in the small table by the door and collapsed face down on the couch.

It was only after a few minutes that he felt a faint smell that hadn't been there for a while, that made him jump to his feet and look around.

Jackie was standing at the foot of the stairs, her hair up in a bun, wearing one of his Zeppelin shirts and a pair of baggy old sweatpants. Her face was pink and her eyes slightly swollen.

They stared at each other for what felt like ages. Jackie opened her mouth to speak several times, but no sound came from her. Steven was immensely relieved that she was back. He was also very angry.

"What the fuck, Jackie?" asked him after a while. His voice sounded loud, sharp and icy. "How could you…?" his voice broke before he could finish the sentence.

He swung around on his heels and grabbed a glass ashtray from the coffee table and threw it to the opposite wall, where it shattered loudly. Steven grabbed his head with both hands then and sat on his big black couch, staring at the floor between his feet. "Fuuuuck!" he yelled at no one in particular.

Jackie stepped hesitantly closer to him and kneeled next to him. "I am so sorry" she whispered. "I didn't know what to do" she said after a small silence "I didn't know how… It was too much…"

"Oh, yeah… and it was so easy for me, right?" retorted him, looking at her, irony and anger coating his words.

They remained silent for a while, not knowing what to do or say.

"Damn it, Jackie!" exclaimed him after a while, standing up and starting to pace back and forth in front of her. "I just…"

He stopped and turned to look at her, wrath turning into to subdued anger, and just a bit of tenderness

"I love you… so, so much" he said, with a pained voice and tears threatening to overflow his eyes "But right now… I also hate you"

And he stormed out of the house, slamming the door.

* * *

I don't think I'd ever et anyone treat me like Hyde just did, but bear with me .. I had to keep them in character and I promise he makes up for this outburst in the next chapter. I also understand him because _what the fuck, Jackie?_ but I also understand her needing to get away. Again, more of that in the next chapter - which will be up soon.


	26. Chapter 26

February 3rd, 1983

2:55 am

Jackie and Hyde's house

He kneeled on the ground next to the bed and spent a long time just staring into her face.

She looked thinner than she had been a month ago. There were dark circles around her eyes and her hair had lost its wavy dark shine. Her left hand was resting next to her face on her pillow and the ring on her fourth finger shimmered with the light from the window.

He closed the bedroom door on his way out and walked down to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich, which he ate with a glass of chocolate milk. The combination reminded him that winter weekend two years ago when they had finally been able to say everything and gotten past all the hurt and unmet expectations.

From then on, everything had gone smoothly.

_I should've known better than to think that things were going to stay like that forever_, he thought bitterly, and went back donwstairs.

/-/-/-/

4:17 am

He kneeled on the same spot as before and placed a small kiss on Jackie's forehead. She fluttered her eyes open, sleepily, trying to adjust to the dim light. He took her left hand and kissed it lightly, not taking his eyes from hers. She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed softly against his neck.

They remained like that for a moment: Jackie half hanging from the side of the bed, and Steven precariously balanced on his knees, neither of them wanting to break the embrace.

After a while Steven moved up to the bed without pulling apart and they laid in each other's arms for long minutes.

"You're not mad?" she asked

"I am" he said, serious. "But a while ago, I promised myself that I wouldn't make the same mistakes as before. I am not going anywhere".

She started crying again then and he held her tight. He let her cry all she needed, stroking her back softly. After a little while she took a deep breath and pulled her head back a little bit.

"I am so sorry" she murmured; her voice choked. "I didn't know… I swear… I had no idea…" she hiccupped.

"I know you didn't" he said, tenderly and kissed her softly on the forehead. "It wasn't your fault, Jackie" she leaned further back, to look at him fully. "I could never blame you for what happened" he said.

"Then why…?"

"I am mad because you ran away… you left me" he explained.

She just stared at him.

"You were not the only one grieving, Doll" he murmured, a lonely tear escaping from the corner of his eye and disappearing on the pillow.

"Why didn't you say anything?" asked her in the same hushed voice, stroking his face lightly.

"I don´t know… I guess I felt like I couldn't… because I had to keep you whole"

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have left like that" she said after a few minutes in silence.

He took her left hand on his, placed it in the pillow between them and pointed at the ring on her fourth finger, giving her a meaningful look.

/-/-/-/

February 10th, 1983

6:57 pm

Jackie and Hyde's house

Opening the front door, he bent down to pick the bags from the floor and pushed the door closed with his foot. He stomped his boots on the mat to get rid of the excess snow as Jackie came out from the kitchen and took the bags from his arms, giving him a small kiss on the lips.

A moment later he followed her to the kitchen where she was putting away some of the groceries and fishing bowls from the cupboards to serve the takeout he'd brought. He came closer to her and hugged her around the waist, kissing her softly.

"How are you today?" he asked after the pulled apart.

She shrugged, a small smile on her lips and a faint shine in her eyes.

They had talked at length after her trip to the Pacific coast. She hadn't actually visited any city, just jumped from one train to the next in the hopes that the rocking movement and the rhythmic sound of the wheels on the tracks would lull her to sleep. She hadn't been able to sleep properly since she'd woken up in the hospital.

Her calendar had reminded her it had been Betsy's birthday a week before, and she went up to the closet on the guest room to take the present she and Steven got for their goddaughter a few days before the New Year's. It was a Muppet Show record and a set of coloring books with a huge box of crayons. Even if she didn't know many of the characters in the books, it was better than sketching on the walls as she'd been doing lately.

Seeing the presents and thinking of Betsy made her cry even harder until she was so exhausted that she just curled up in bed and tried to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning feeling dazed and with an awful headache as if she was hungover, she felt like she couldn't take anything anymore. Steven had been overly silent and brooding ever since she was released from the hospital and even though he held her every time she cried, she could feel how tense he was, as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

She hadn't known she was pregnant, and the rational side of her mind couldn't understand why she had been so upset about losing something she never knew she had in the first place. Kitty had said that miscarriages in the early weeks were fairly common and that sometimes women didn't even notice they had been pregnant if it was less than three weeks.

But she had been four weeks pregnant, and the stress of the previous days had been too much for her and her pregnancy. It had been her fault, she concluded while still in the hospital, and had been beating herself up for it all the way to the west coast and back.

While she set the small table in the kitchen, he went to the lounge to put on some music. Zeppelin, of course, she thought with a small smile, as "Led Zeppelin II" started to sound. But then there was a strange sound that told her that Steven had lifted the needle from the vinyl. Curious she walked to the lounge as he put the needle down again, and the end of "The Lemon song" sounded from the speakers.

He held her arms out for her when the next song started to sound, and she sank into his embrace as the organ sounded in the background and Plant's voice filled the room. They swayed from side to side in the spot, holding onto each other.

_Little drops of rain whisper of the pain / Tears of loves lost in the days gone by / My love is strong / With you there is no wrong_

Jackie looked up to him, with silent tears in her eyes, which he dried away with his thumb. He gave her a half sad and half hopeful smile.

She was amazed by him. Of course, he hadn't known either that she had been pregnant, but as sad and frustrated as he'd been, he'd stayed by her side and had taken care of her. Kitty had told her how devastated he had been while waiting for her to wake up in the hospital. And then how upset and distraught he'd been when she'd left.

And of course, he'd been angry and frustrated when she'd come back. Never before she'd seen him so furious and at the same time so vulnerable as that night. They talked until dawn came and they couldn't keep their eyes open anymore. And for the first time in three weeks, she slept soundly and without nightmares or strange dreams.

_And so today, my world, it smiles / Your hand in mine, we walk the miles / And thanks to you it will be done / For you to me are the only one / Alright, yeah / Happiness, no more be sad_

When the song faded into silence, he gave her a small kiss and went back to the turntable and put another vinyl. "Even in the quietest moments", one of Jackie's favorites, sounded in the background as they ate in companionable silence.

"You look like you have something to say…" he said with a smile after he finished eating. She looked at him, amused. After three years she was still amazed at how easily he could read her.

"I think we should set a date" said Jackie in a short breath. "After what happened I don't want to not be married to you anymore"


	27. Chapter 27

For those of you who like Layla .. this is one of my favourite chapters with her on

* * *

April 16th, 1983

10:22 pm

WB's house, Milwaukee

Jackie and Steven had spent the last three months avoiding most people and social engagements. Somehow Kitty had made sure that everybody respected their wish to be left alone, though she would drive to Madison from time to time to check in on them, loaded with brownies and cookies and casseroles and other stuff.

Reluctantly, Jackie had gone back to work at the end of February. Her boss had been very sympathetic and reduced her workload considerably. But Jackie didn't feel the joy her job used to ignite anymore, so after a couple of weeks she decided to quit. She had spent the following weeks mostly at home, reading, drawing, and trying new recipes. Some days she would go to the mall and pick up some things for the house.

Steven was sitting on a big couch between his sister and Layla. He was thankful to Layla and his sister for throwing a small birthday party instead of the big soirée that Layla would have organized under different circumstances. Like her usual New Year's parties. Those had been crowded, loud and tiring. He wasn't sure neither him nor Jackie were up for something like that just yet.

On the couch in front of them, Jackie was sitting with Kitty and Donna, talking enthusiastically. Jackie hadn't seen much of Donna lately, even though they lived only six blocks away. She and Steven hadn't even been to either Donna's or Forman's birthdays this year. And they hadn't done anything special on Valentine's Day actually; just a quiet dinner, only the two of them. But now Jackie seemed happy, catching up with her best friend and Kitty, the closest thing she had to a mother

"She's not happy" said Layla, in a low voice, following Steven's gaze

"Good one, _Sherlock_" he replied, bitterly.

"Don't you sass me, _boy_" reprimanded Layla, smacking him lightly on the back of the head, laughing.

"She needs a new job" said Angie, unperturbed by her brother and her grandmother's behavior.

Without a word, Steven nodded and got up. He knew they were right, but he didn't want to patronize Jackie telling her what was best for her… pretending to _know_ what was best for her. She was a strong and determined woman and she wouldn't take it nicely if he started to meddle. Even in the current circumstances. He needed to find a way to help her find a new job that excited her as much as her old one used to.

Jackie seemed to be having such a good time that he relaxed and started to enjoy himself. He'd gone back to the kitchen and grabbed two cans of beer from the fridge. Eric was absentmindedly looking through WB's vast record collection.

"I'm sorry we missed your birthday" Steven said, handing a beer to Forman.

"It's ok, man"

They stood there in a companionable silence for a little while, until Jackie and Donna walked towards them. "Do you want to leave?" whispered him on her ear when she reached him.

"We haven't even had cake yet" she replied, giving him a small peck in the cheek.

_She's right_, he thought. It was his father's birthday, after all. And anyway, Layla had already said that she would not let anybody out the door before singing happy birthday and cutting the cake.

/-/-/-/

11:42 pm

Right now, she was feeling good, discussing with Angie the best way to redecorate WB's house. Not that he'd asked for advice anyway.

From the other side of the room, Steven was looking at her, sipping his beer absentmindedly.

"How have you been?" asked WB coming from the kitchen

"I don't know, really" replied Steven, sincerely. "Way better, for sure" he added, thinking of how miserable the past winter had been for both of them. "Work is fine, as you know… We finally finished furnishing the spare rooms upstairs and Jackie picked all the last tiny things to decorate and stuff… And she seems good…"

"But?"

Steven shrugged, and went back to his beer.

/-/-/-/

April 17th, 1983

12:17 am

WB's house, Milwaukee

They were back in the living room, talking amiably. Donna was helping WB go around the room with more cake for everybody and Eric was changing the vinyl on WB's state-of-the-art music station. Kitty was giggling happily, a big slice of cake in her hand, with Red sitting next to her, drinking his beer.

Jackie sat on the couch between Layla and Steven with a large slice of cake in her hand. To her right Layla was talking, but Steven wasn't paying attention to his grandmother, and he had the feeling that Jackie wasn't either. They were both still under the effects of the circle, which had included Eric, Donna, his sister, and his father.

Seeing that nobody was paying attention, Layla focused her attention on the piece of cake in her hands, and he could hear her mumble something. "Sorry, I didn't hear you, _grannie_" said Steven mockingly. There wasn't something that she hated more than to be called that. Just as much as he hated being called _boy_, and she knew that.

"I said: next time you have a _meeting_ with your father" replied her in a low voice, emphasizing the word meeting, "you should invite _me_ too".

"My mistake" apologized Steven, suppressing his own mirth about his grandmother's annoyance for being left out of the circle. Jackie chuckled, amused by Layla's wit. On Layla's other side Angie laughed loudly.

"Now you owe me one" said Layla, dropping the secrecy and straightening a strand of her hair and returning to her cake. After a moment she turned back to her grandson and continued: "and as penance, you have to answer something"

Steven rolled his eyes. The look on her face told him that it wouldn't be an innocent question. Their conversation was starting to attract some curious faces and Steven braced himself to be humiliated by his grandmother.

"Are you planning on getting married _before or after_ my funeral?"

* * *

According to fandom * com WB's birthday is April 16th


	28. Chapter 28

Surprise!

* * *

April 17th, 1983

12:21 am

WB's house, Milwaukee

Six pairs of eyes focused on Layla. Kitty was instantly silent, and her reddening face showed how much effort that was costing her. Red squeezed Kitty's hand. Eric turned around on his heels so fast that he almost dropped the vinyl he was holding, and Donna sat back on a chair, still holding the tray with slices of cake. Next to Donna, WB gave his mother a hard look, holding the coffee pot handle so tightly it made his knuckles turn white.

The only one that seemed unaffected by Layla's question was Angie, who stood up to save the vinyl from Eric's hands. She put the vinyl on the turntable and stood in the back.

Two seconds later all eyes focused on Jackie and Steven, who were sitting side by side on the couch. And they were looking at each other, as if they were talking through their eyes. Steven nodded almost imperceptibly.

And then Jackie turned to Layla with a smile.

"Oh, Layla, don't worry, I'm absolutely positive that the date we picked is _nowhere_ near your funeral" she said.

Nobody said anything, but they all looked at them expectantly.

"How can you…?" asked Layla but was interrupted by Steven.

"February 17th" said Steven

"What?" exclaimed Donna "That's like… next year!"

"Actually…" said Jackie avoiding everybody's eyes "it _was_ exactly two months ago"

Just like Angie had predicted, they all reacted more or less in the same loud way. First incredulity, then happiness and then outrage.

After the initial shock, Kitty had tears in the corners of her eyes. Donna was gesturing with her hands, and Layla was laughing so hard that they couldn't understand what Donna was saying. WB had finally set the coffee pot down and Eric looked dumbstruck.

_Hyde hurried down the hallway to the office hoping that Angie would still be there. She usually went out at lunchtime to run errands or meet with friends. She was sitting in one of the two desks inside the room, frowning at the page in front of her._

_"__The numbers don't really care if you frown at them or not" he commented, leaning against the desk._

_"__Ha, ha… very funny" she retorted, dropping the pencil she had been holding "Why are you in such a good mood?" asked her, suspicious._

_"__You'll see" he replied standing up and reaching for her coat "I need a favor" he continued, holding the coat for her._

_One hour later they parked in front of City Hall and Angie, Jackie and Steven stepped out of Jackie's car and into the building._

_While they waited for their turn Angie bombarded them with questions, and they explained that they just wanted to be married. _

_"__Why not have Donna and Eric as your witnesses?" asked Angie after a small silence._

_"__Because they wouldn't understand" said Jackie_

_"__I don't either" retorted Angie._

_"__But you are practical, and you're here, and you're not pushing for the party, and all that crap" said Steven_

_The ceremony, if you could even call it that, was simple and short. They didn't need to exchange vows, since they had done it already the night before. Today they just needed to sign the papers, with Angie as the witness. _

_They went to a nearby restaurant for lunch and after that Angie told him to take the afternoon off and go away for the weekend. "You could ask Layla for the lake house" she suggested, and walked back to the studio, only a few blocks away._

"Why didn't you say anything?" asked Donna after a moment of silence.

"Well… it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing" explained Steven, shrugging.

"But a marriage license takes days…" commented Eric.

Steven looked around slightly frustrated. They still didn't get it, not like Angie had that day. They didn't want to make a big deal out of it and even then, getting married is not something you tell your friends and family over the phone.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you" Steven tried to explain. "It was something we needed… just the two of us"

"Same reason why we haven't seen anybody since… that day" said Jackie doing her best to sound matter-of-factly, but her voice broke just a tiny bit on the last part.

"Oh, honey!" said Kitty standing up and walking towards Jackie and pulling her to her feet to give her a big hug. And then did the same for Steven, who patted her back uncomfortably. After that the tension in the room faded and everybody congratulated them, wholeheartedly.

/-/-/-/

1:47 am

Jackie and Steven's house

They decided to go home early. It had been a long day at the studio for Steven and Jackie was emotionally exhausted too. After over three months she had forgotten how much energy it required to be around so many people at once… and how much she loved it. After their announcement things had slowly quieted down and somehow Jackie had returned to her earlier conversation with Angie and the both of them had convinced WB that he _just_ needed to redecorate his living room and dining room.

Steven was pretty sure that it had to do with all the alcohol coursing through is father's veins, and that he wouldn't remember the next day. Layla had said "I don't think so, _boy_". He didn't argue. He knew by now that he would never win a discussion against her when she called him _boy_. Maybe WB would remember, or maybe Angie would make him remember. In any case, Steven was glad to see how much they cared about Jackie.

* * *

The original idea was that they'd go to city hall right away but then I found out that marriage licences take a few days to process - I'm not from the US so that would have been an honest mistake .. though I'm too OCD haha


	29. Chapter 29

April 29th, 1983

7:02 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

"I realized something today" commented Jackie, sitting on the couch with a glass of wine.

Steven had had to go to Point Place to check on Groove's. He hadn't been much there in the past months after all of what had happened with him and Jackie, but fortunately the store had been running smoothly. _Ryan needs a raise_, he thought, pouring himself a glass of wine and snuggling next to Jackie on the couch.

"What is it?" asked him. He was curious, Jackie had a weird smile on her face. Half amused, half something else.

She had spent most of the day with Betsy and Brooke. They had gone shopping after lunch and then had gone to the Forman's for tea. After driving her friend and goddaughter home, she had wondered about town for a little while. It felt like ages since she had been there last. And then she'd driven past her childhood home. She'd stopped there for a moment, looking at tiny details, thinking of a past life.

"Well… I was driving by my old house and I realized that I am not the same person that I was before" she said, pulling herself back from thoughts about her old house.

"Everybody knows that, Doll" replied him. "You've changed a lot from the girl that grew up in that house"

"I don't mean that… it's something even more practical" she said, frowning slightly.

"Like…" asked Steven trying to understand.

"Well… back then I was Jack and Pam Burkhart's daughter, right?" she began; then paused.

"But you haven't been _that_ for a while now… you said so yourself before we moved to Madison" replied him, not really understanding where she was trying to get.

"Yes… but I am not that person anymore either" she replied, frowning again.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… Back then I was Jackie Burkhart, junior TV producer and all of that" Jackie explained. "And then I was… well, just a big mess" she said, with a sad sigh.

"Don't say that…" whispered him, brushing a tear off her cheek. "You were just grieving, we both were". She sighed, deeply.

"I know… and I am ok with that now…" she told him, smiling sweetly. "And _we_ are fine" she added, kissing him lightly on the lips and hugging him, resting her head on his chest.

"Ok… so what does any of this have to do with your childhood home?" asked him after a small silence.

_Jackie sat inside the car for a while, looking at the house. It was almost the same as it had always been. The new owners had just painted the window frames and the front door; there were two cars in the driveway, and there was a swing hanging from a branch of the big tree on the left side of the house._

_She was about to turn the engine back on when a maid rounded the house from the back to put a bag of trash in the can by the driveway. It was Martina, the same woman that had worked in that house most of her life. Without even thinking, Jackie jumped out of the car and called her name. _

_They talked for a while. Martina had always been very nice to her. She had been a loving figure when her mother was away with a new boyfriend, and especially whenever her dad was working late. Martina was one of the only good things about that house. Jackie was glad that the new owners had hired her when they bought the house._

"She saw the ring and asked about it" explained Jackie, looking at her left hand "She couldn't believe me when I told her that we'd eloped" she paused for a moment, a wonderous look in her eyes. "And that's when it really hit me: we are _married_"

"Just now?" asked him, chuckling. "It's been like three months, you know" added him. She punched him softly in the shoulder, chuckling.

"Yeah… but I have been so cooped up since the accident that I hadn't had the opportunity to… I don't know… socialize it… say it out loud"

"And we only told the family a couple of weeks ago" he agreed, seing her point.

"Yes… That, and the fact that we don't have wedding bands" added her.

/-/-/-/

April 30th, 1983

1:24 pm

Groove's

It was a really cold day outside and Jackie was glad to be sitting on the couch with a big warm cup of hot cocoa between her chilled hands. She had just come in after walking from the apartment. At the time, Steven had decided to buy that apartment because it was just a couple of blocks from the store. He had become accustomed to leave the car home and walk to the store every day, and Jackie had gotten used to that too. But today she wished she'd taken the car.

"Just 15 more minutes, Doll" Steven told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, and going back to the register with Ryan.

"Hey!" called a voice from the back door and Jackie turned around to see Leo's grinning face "Loud girl is here!"

"Hi, Leo" replied Jackie, smiling too.

Despite his look and her original prejudices, truth is, Jackie had always liked him. There was something soothing about him. He was always smiling pleasantly; his voice was soft and relaxed, and his demeanor was always chill. Of course, sometimes he could be unnerving, being so unfocussed and drifty; but Jackie especially liked him because – along with Red and Kitty, he'd been one of Steven's biggest supporters.

They talked for a while and when Steven was ready to go, they left Leo sitting on the couch, looking dreamily into infinity.


	30. Chapter 30

April 30th, 1983

2:47 pm

Point Place Mall

"Ok, this is the place" said Steven stopping in front of a small and inconspicuous store. Jackie would have never noticed it if he hadn't pointed it out. And she made a face, lifting her right brow, that reminded him a lot of her younger self. "Just wait until you see it" he said, smiling.

Despite all her growth over the past three years, Jackie still had a thing for presents and jewelry. And despite all of Steven's talk against presents and corporations and _the man_, ever since they'd gotten back together over three years ago, he'd been very good at giving her presents. Not all the time, as her younger self would have liked, but all the presents had been special, beautiful, and thoughtful. Like the necklace he'd given her last Christmas.

Jackie was looking around, stunned by the beautiful store. It was small, as was obvious when looking at it from the outside, but that made it even more impressive. It was a jewelry store, one of the finest she'd ever been in.

Steven was already talking to the clerk and by the looks of it, they knew each other well. The girl on the other side of the counter was very pretty. She was slightly taller than Jackie, with long chestnut hair and beautiful brown eyes.

"Yes… last February" Steven was saying.

"Ok, yes, I understand eloping… but two whole months and more?" the clerk was saying, amused. She shook her head feigning shock. "It's nice to finally meet you" said the clerk when Jackie approached the counter. "Hyde has told me a lot about you" she said, smiling. "I'm Jessica" she added.

Jackie smiled at her politely, but Steven could tell she was tense, uncomfortable.

"Jess has been really helpful over the years" Steven explained, taking Jackie's left hand and looking at the ring on her fourth finger.

"Oh, that's a masterpiece" sighed Jessica "and it looks perfect on you" she added, smiling at Jackie. "Ok, give me a second, I'll get the wedding bands for you to look at".

_So, this is where this came from_, thought Jackie, looking at her engagement ring. She turned back to look at an array of earrings on a beautiful display with crystal doors on the wall. She recognized the style; they were similar to the ones he'd gotten her for her last birthday.

"I'll be right back, Doll" said Steven, suddenly, looking out. Ryan had walked past the shop three times already, looking around as if he was looking for something. "I think Ryan is looking for me".

When Jessica returned from the back with the tray of rings, Jackie was standing alone in the middle of the shop.

"Where…?" asked Jessica, confused.

"Work stuff…" replied Jackie pointing out with her thumb and going back to the counter to look at the wedding bands. They were gorgeous. Some simple and plain, some with intricate patterns, some with a mix of different colors. Jackie never thought there would be so many options to choose from.

"I'm very glad he gave you _this_ ring, and not the other one" Jessica said, suddenly.

"What do you mean, the other one?"

When they'd gotten back together, he told her that he'd had a ring that night in Chicago; and when she'd moved in with him, she had wondered where it was. When she didn't find it, she'd just assume that he'd hidden it in the store. At the end she was glad that she'd never seen it before the night he actually proposed.

She'd always assumed it was the same ring.

"Oh, you didn't know?" asked Jessica, slightly surprised. "The first time he came I could tell he was in a hurry… and hungover" she added, thoughtful. "And I got the feeling that he wasn't _reaaally_ sure about any of it…"

"Why?" asked Jackie, extremely curious.

"I don't know… Intuition, I guess?" said Jessica, shrugging. "Anyway… I showed him some rings and he looked at them for a few moments, chose a very plain one, and just left"

Jessica went to a small cabinet on the side of the store and took a velvet box that jingled as she put it on the counter. She opened it and took a beautiful but plain white gold ring with a simple diamond. She gave it to Jackie for her to see. It was beautiful in its simplicity; but Jess was right, it _was_ plain.

"He returned it a bit over three years ago" she said. "I think it was late January"

"But… That's when we got back together" said Jackie, confused.

"Yeah… I think he was high when he came in to return it" Jessica laughed, remembering. "I didn't think he would be so chatty" she added laughing.

_"__Did you hear the last Pink Floyd album?" he asked, suddenly, still staring at the ring. She said no. "It's been haunting me ever since New Year's" he added. _

_"__So, I assume things didn't work out…" she commented, pointing at the ring._

_"__Obviously" replied him, dryly. He remained silent for a while, brooding, looking at the ring, shining faintly on its velvet box. She went to the door and turned the sign; she had a feeling that he needed to talk and would not appreciate an interruption. "It wasn't the right moment… and then it all went to hell"_

_"__But that was months ago… why return it now?"_

_"__I couldn't let go" he said, simply._

_"__What changed?" asked her, curious._

_"__I think we… maybe… we might get back together" he said shyly, almost afraid to be optimistic, hoping that saying it out loud wouldn't jinx it._

_"__In that case, won't you need the ring again, eventually?"_

_"__No. Not this one" he replied, firmly. "Too much has happened… it would be a reminder of all the bad things"_

"So, I gave him his money back" said Jessica, finishing the story.

Jackie was silent for a moment, amazed. "That was very chatty for him" commented Jackie, smiling. "Thanks for telling me this" she added, as Steven returned.

Jackie jumped from the chair she'd been sitting and gave him a deep, loving kiss.

"Wow… I should leave you alone in a jewelry store more often" he teased, slightly embarrassed when he saw Jessica watching them, smiling.

They went back to the counter to look at the wedding bands together and after a while decided on a simple but elegant pair of white gold rings with a very thin band of dark golden in the middle. They had Jessica engrave them with the date of their marriage and the song that had brought them back together. The phrase "_Together we stand_" on his ring, and "_Divided, we fall_" on hers.


	31. Chapter 31

Ok! Extra long chapter to make up for the long wait!

I'm now officially living on the other side of the planet from my home and it's weird.

Enjoy!

* * *

April 30rd, 1983

10:06 pm

Jackie and Hyde's apartment

Jackie snuggled closer to him and Steven tightened his arms around her waist and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I realized something else today" commented her after a small silence, tracing lines on his chest with her fingertip, her ear resting on the spot right above his heart.

"I'm not buying you any more jewelry, if that's what you're getting at" replied him, and she could hear the low rumble of his silent laughter.

"Well it's just that… we signed the papers, and we changed our names, and we have the rings…" she trailed off, feeling suddenly embarrassed

"But?" he asked, still amused

"But we're still not _properly _married…" she explained, her face hidden by her hair. "And I know you want to…"

It only took him a second to realize what she meant, and his light mood was gone immediately.

He had given her space even after her gynecologist gave Jackie a clean bill of health, hinting that it was safe for her to resume her sexual life. Jackie was back on the pill and was ever more conscientious about it, taking it every day at exactly the same time, not missing one even in the most chaotic day.

But Steven could feel her hesitate every time things got heated between them. Even the day they got married. He knew it was because she was scared to get pregnant again, and even though it was physiologically impossible for him to understand what she'd been through, he still had a similar fear. Though in his case it was mostly fear of something happening to her, fear of losing her.

Slightly disentangling himself from her, he turned to face her, Jackie mirroring his movements beside him so they could face each other. He took her face on his hand and kissed her lightly on her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips before releasing her and looking into her eyes.

"I do want to, Jackie…" said Steven in a soft voice. "But _only_ if you want it too…"

"I'm scared…" she said then, in a small voice, and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't look precisely frightened, on the contrary, it was like the tears were washing away her fears.

"I know, doll" replied Steven, wiping her tears with his thumbs, smiling softly.

"I want it too…" Jackie said, smiling shyly and leaning in to kiss him, soft and deep.

"Are you sure?" asked him when they broke apart. She nodded and kissed him again.

They moved so he was sitting with her straddling him, his hands tugging at the hem of the Led Zeppelin shirt she usually wore as pajamas. Her movements were still hesitant, so he broke the kiss and looked her in the eyes, silently repeating the question.

"I'm sure" she whispered, firmly.

"What should I do?" asked him in turn, feeling more lost than he'd been the night he lost his virginity.

"Just… do what you do best" she replied, with a suggestive smirk, biting her bottom lip. "And help me get there"

With that, he took off her shirt and his, and kissed her again, this time more passionately, but still slow and cautious, one hand on her back, pressing her chest against his; the other cupping the back of her head, tilting her head slightly back to have better access to her mouth.

He was feeling the heat rising inside of him but tried to keep it in check. This was as far as they'd gotten before, and even after her reassurances, he was still prepared to fall back at the first sign of wavering from her.

But then she began to slowly rock her hips against his and the heat and the feeling of their bodies moving together begun to overcome his senses.

11:57 pm

They had made love like never before, slowly and tenderly, but hungrily and with a quiet wildness. After a second round, now they were laying on each other's arms, thoroughly sated and happy, still sweaty and slightly out of breath.

Always conscious about possible urinary tract infection, she slipped off to the bathroom while he straightened the bedclothes, picking up the pillows and their pajamas from every corner of the room. He was fishing for his yellow Rolling Stones t-shirt from under the small dark blue chair near the window when she came back from the bathroom.

"Don't even think about putting that back on" she said, getting under the covers, still completely naked.

He tossed the shirt on the couch and jumped back onto the bed, landing on top of her, nearly crushing her, both of them giggling.

"I don't think I've ever heard you _giggle_ like that" she said, with a big smile.

"Luckily for me now we're _properly_ married, and you can't testify against me" he teased back, sneaking his hand towards her midsection, and making her squeal.

"Oh… but I _can _gossip" squirming away from him and failing. He resumed the tickling attack and they rolled around the bed laughing and tickling each other until they were both out of breath.

"I am glad you returned that first ring" she said, after a while, taking a deep breath to calm down her giddiness.

"I knew she'd tell you" he chuckled. "I am too" he said kissing her deeply.

"So, you are pretty good friends with her, huh" commented her, nonchalant. He laughed lightly.

"Well, you heard the story" he said. "Don't tell me you're jealous" he added, feigning seriousness.

"Well… not after what just happened" she replied chuckling.

They remained silent for a moment. Jackie was looking at hers and his left hands, fingers interlaced, twin rings shining from the fourth finger on each hand. They had been married for a bit over two months, but now it felt more real. She thought back to Kitty's question and understood the need for a big ceremony and party. But even though she was thrilled to be married to Steven and to finally have the wedding bands, she still didn't feel quite like throwing a big party for it. Their loss was still too fresh, and she felt like it wouldn't be fair to have a big party so soon after that.

"If you returned that ring…" said Jackie, after a while, "when did you buy this other one?"

_"__I was wondering when I'd see you again, you know" said Jessica as he walked into the store. "I saw you with her the other day… she's so tiny and cute!" she added, smiling delighted. _

_They had run into each other several times after he'd returned the engagement ring back in January. Groove's was right around the corner from Jess's jewelry shop, and Point Place was a small town after all. And he'd discovered that she had a very interesting taste in music. She would come by Grooves sometimes looking for an old Jethro Tull record, the latest Led Zeppelin, the most popular one by The Beatles, and a couple of times she'd asked for Chopin and Tchaikovsky. _

_They had become friendly. He liked her sparky personality, and he thought that she'd get along nicely with his friends. He'd invited her to the basement a couple of times, but she'd already had plans._

_"__I think I kind of… sort of… proposed… the other night" he said, uncomfortably._

_"__You __**think**__ you proposed? How can you "sort of" propose?" asked her, amused._

_He told her about their conversation from the night of his birthday. How he'd felt overwhelmed by love when he'd tried the cake. "It was… not terrible" he said, trying to explain to her how funny the situation had been and how terrible were the first cookies that Jackie had made for him on her very first attempt to bake. _

_"__When we first got back together, I couldn't see myself marrying her just yet…" explained Hyde, scratching the back of his head. And they had agreed that it was too soon to be thinking of that. _

_Of course, things had started to change when Jackie had moved in with him. Back then it was all very new and exciting, and they were still exploring their new relationship. Now, after his birthday, he felt ready to take the next step._

_"__So now you want a _new_ ring" Jess said. Hyde nodded._

_They spent the better part of the next hour looking at engagement rings. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he'd know it when he saw it. Or so he thought._

_"__Dude, I've shown you all the engagement rings I have right now" she sighed, exasperated. He looked at her slightly disappointed. He didn't want to go to another shop. He hated shopping. At least here he had a friend of sorts to make it easier. "Ok, I'll tell you what… if you tell me what you want, I'll draw a few designs and I can have my…" she paused for just a second "partner… make it for you"_

_"__What? All of these are your designs?" asked him, dumbfounded, looking around the small shop._

_"__Well… not _all_ of them" replied her, shyly. Most of the items she had were from a couple of big jewelry manufacturers, but she showed him the section of the shop where she kept her designs. It was a small collection, but they were the prettiest rings, necklaces, earrings and other accessories. "Lori is the crafter… she's usually working in the back, but today she's in Chicago buying supplies"_

"So, Jess designed this?" asked Jackie, looking at her engagement ring with new eyes

"Yeah…" replied him, shrugging. "Anyway… she sent me back to Groove's saying that she needed peace and quiet to work on the designs" he continued the story. "I was so distracted that day, that I didn't pay much attention when Fez came in with Rachel"

_"__Hey, buddy" said Fez's voice trying to get his attention. Hyde moved his head slowly and focused his eyes on his friend "Are you ok? It's like your mind is floating on the stratosphere" _

_"__Oh… sorry Fez, I have a lot on my mind" replied Hyde, forcing his mind to pull back from Jess's store and the ring designs. "She seems very nice" he said, looking at Rachel, who was browsing through the records on the other side of the store._

_Fez sighed deeply and looked at her with loving eyes. "She's perfect"_

_Hyde didn't even notice when Fez and Rachel left and eventually Ryan had to send him to his office because he wasn't doing any good sitting at the register, looking into infinity. Leo joined him for a little while and they had a two-person circle. He felt that _film_ was the only thing that would help soothe his mind._

_But it hadn't. So, he sat on _the pit_ for the remainder of the afternoon, listening to one record after the other, until it was 7pm, closing time. "You're closing today" he told Ryan, and grabbing his coat, he hurried to the little jewelry store around the corner._

_"__Hi…" he said, slightly confused to see a girl with short blonde hair, bright blue eyes and wearing a tattered leather apron. "Is Jess around?"_

_"__Oh… you must be Hyde" replied the blond, smiling knowingly. "I'm Lori, Jess's… partner"_

_At that moment, Jess's voice came from the back room "Hey babe… will you turn the sign on the door?"._

_Lori looked at Hyde, flustered, and hurried to the door to turn the "CLOSED" side outwards and stayed there, pretending to fix the window display, face flushed. Hyde chuckled. "Soooo… _that_ kind of partner" he commented with a knowing grin when Jess came into the main room of the store._

_"__Shush…" replied her, also red faced. Even after the whole "sexual revolution" of the 60's, Point Place was still a small and very conservative community._

_"__Hey, I couldn't care less" said Hyde, honestly. "I only want to see your drawings"_

"After I decided on a design, I went back there almost every day, until Lori kicked me out" he said, laughing. They were both losing their patience so they promised him they would go to Groove's as soon as the ring was finished. "It took a while because Lori had to find twelve sapphires as similar as possible, all of the same size, color… it was finished just two days before New Year's"

* * *

Done with the mistery of the engagement ring .. aaaaaand if anyone remembers about a small moment many chapters ago, this is why Steven forgot to tell Jackie he'd met Rachel when he did haha

Cheers!


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